Untimely Flames
by iamthecabbatar
Summary: Hiromi grew up in the palace. She'd lived, laughed, and loved there. Lu Ten stole her heart- and died with it. When tragic events send Hiromi out of the Fire Nation, her path crosses with those of people who will help shape her future as she discovers who she is and who she is meant to become.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I posted this story once before, but I deleted it and have since revised it. I'm reposting it now because I'm older and therefore wiser – plus now I know how character development works and I really like this concept for a fic. Even so, I'm really nervous about posting this simply because I've done so much editing just to this chapter. Regardless, I hope you enjoy :)**

Disclaimer for the entire series- I do not own ATLA.

"I bet you thought I wasn't going to find you!"

Hiromi turned around to see the boy who had spoken to her. His goofy smile that took up half of his face caused his brown eyes to wrinkle up and give him the appearance of an old man.

Hiromi laughed, "You haven't caught me yet! "

Her choppy hair bounced behind her as she ran to the middle of the garden where she could touch base and be safe from Lu Ten.

Her hair, as a matter of fact, was the only thing that stood out about Hiromi's appearance. Her plain face and dark eyes alone weren't anything spectacular, even at her young age. But her hair turned heads no matter where she went. The sun always seemed to reflect so beautifully off of the undulating and wavelike tresses that barely reached past her shoulders. At first glance, her hair would appear to be a dusty color, a light brown if you must put a name to the color. But the moment the light hit her hair, it was almost as if it glowed. Each strand fell around her face and shone like the rays of sun they were.

It was truly a sight to behold, a girl whose hair seemed to be made of light.

Just as her right foot touched the soft dirt around the turtle duck pond, she felt a gust of wind just barely pass the small of her back. Hiromi jumped up and down in delight, laughing with Lu Ten.

His face turned red with embarrassment, knowing he would have to be the chaser once again.

"Let's play a different game, Hiromi. " Lu Ten begged, his black-brown hair appearing almost a copper color in the light of noon.

"What do you want to play? " she asked, her eyes flickering with the sense of exuberance all children seemed to posses.

Lu Ten thought about this for a moment, remembering a game he used to play with his father when they were outside together.

"I know what we can do-" he started, only to be interrupted by a loud noise coming from across the garden.

Hiromi and Lu Ten ran to look through the bushes, where they saw Azula and Ty Lee had pushed Mai and Zuko into a water fountain. Azula and her partner in crime laughed, feeling as if they had just pulled the best prank ever.

Zuko stood up out of the fountain and stormed off, furiously marching towards the doors of the palace.

Lu Ten chased after him, leaving Hiromi by herself with the other three girls.

"Hiromi, how are your fire bending lessons going? Master Zhang has told me you are making significant progress and are one of the best benders he's ever seen at your age. "

Hiromi only shrugged her shoulders, noting how insightful Azula was for a 7 year old. Though, it was possible Azula had only been repeating something she had simply heard, not knowing its entire significance- only that it was important.

Hiromi started to follow after Lu Ten when she was stopped once more by Azula, who ran in front of her and physically kept her from entering the doors.

"Excuse me, I need to go in here. "

Hiromi tried to sidestep Azula, but was only barred away from the door by the other two girls, who ran over to join Azula.

"Why is that?" She asked, "You don't have to follow Lu Ten _everywhere_ he goes, you know."

Hiromi furrowed her brow and crossed her arms, "Well, I want to."

Azula's eyes widened as she smirked to herself, "Why _do_ you play with Lu Ten so much? " Azula teased, taking a step towards Hiromi. Mai and Ty Lee giggled behind the young princess as Hiromi opened her mouth to respond, but she drew a blank. She felt her face grow hot as she backed down off of the steps, running to the turtle duck pond.

She heard the girls behind her laughing but didn't care. Tears began coming out of her eyes like a waterfall- why was this making her cry?

She didn't know why she was with Lu Ten a lot, they had always been best friends. He was three years older than her, but it just meant he could show her the ropes around the palace and anywhere else. She looked up to him and admired his kindness.

She let her tears fall off of her face and into the turtle duck pond. She was so engrossed in her emotional breakdown that she almost didn't feel someone place their hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, little Hiromi?" the kind voice of a woman filled her ears.

Hiromi knew who it was and wrapped her arms around Ursa, knowing that she could give her the comfort she needed.

Hiromi had been motherless since the moment she was born. She spent a great deal of time at the palace because of her father's duties as a Colonel, and Ursa took Hiromi under her wing- giving her the kind of love only a mother could.

Ursa smoothed Hiromi's hair as she cried into her robe, waiting for her to gather her feelings together.

"Why is she so sad?" Ursa wondered, continuing to comfort Hiromi.

Zuko and Lu Ten watched from the window as Hiromi wiped her eyes and talked to Ursa next to the turtle duck pond.

A concerned look crossed Lu Ten's face. "Did Azula play an awful joke on Hiromi too?" he asked himself, hoping they spared Hiromi of their spite.

Zuko had been wondering the same thing, and decided to confront Azula about it.

"What did you do to her? " he demanded, interrupting Azula's demonstration of a fire bending move to her minions.

Azula laughed, "I didn't do anything to her, she merely took offense when I pressed her about the nature of her relationship with Lu Ten. "

Zuko shook his head, "Are you sure you didn't do anything else to her? " he asked, stepping forward.

She laughed once more, "Yes, Zuzu. I'm positive. Now run along and go be jealous of Lu Ten somewhere else. "

His face turned beet red as he once again marched back into the palace, hoping this time he could stay in there and avoid Azula for the rest of the day.

Lu Ten considered walking over to Hiromi so that she could tell him what had happened, but decided against it when he saw Zuko storming back into the palace.

"Why is everyone so moody today? " he thought aloud, then laughed. It was a normal day for the children: going from playing to arguing in a heartbeat.

Lu Ten laughed again at his last thought, thinking it ironic that his heart rate seemed to quicken as he watched Hiromi laugh with his aunt. She had a beautiful smile and the most infectious laugh he'd ever heard. Ursa seemed to be feeling the same way, as she soon followed Hiromi's laughter.

They appeared as if they were mother and daughter, sitting and laughing together this way. Lu Ten smiled and went into the palace, deciding instead to go play with Zuko.

Azula briefly narrowed her eyes at her mother and Hiromi, trying not to be jealous. She turned back towards her friends, hiding the hurt she felt in her heart by smiling at the two girls and continuing her fire bending demonstration.

"What does Hiromi have that I don't? " Azula wondered, using her anger to fuel her bending.

As hate began to be the source of her bending, a seed of jealousy was planted in Azula that day that would eventually consume her- causing her heart to grow cold.

"Thank you so much, Ursa. " Hiromi said, wiping a tear from her eye- this time from laughter.

Ursa smiled down at her and pushed a strand of hair back behind Hiromi's ear.

"I will be here any time you need me, sweet girl. "

Hiromi's shorter piece of hair behind her ear fell back in front of her face, causing both of them to giggle.

"Here you go, keep this. " Ursa took a comb out of her hair and gave it to Hiromi.

It was gold on top with black teeth and was decorated with several black flowers painted behind a beautiful, large red rose that stuck out above its teeth.

"Thank you, Ursa. " she said as Ursa pulled her hair to the side and pinned it back for her.

Zuko and Lu Ten watched the girls from across the garden as they made their way towards them, observing the turtle ducks swim in the crystal water- water obstructed only by the falling of petals from the cherry blossom trees.

 **Three Years Later**

"You look absolutely stunning. " Lu Ten smiled, commenting on Hiromi's radiating beauty.

She blushed, wrapping her arm around his so that he could escort her down the staircase in the ballroom.

"Thank you, Lu Ten. You look handsome as well. "

Though he was 16, Lu Ten had the muscular build of someone many years older than him. Hiromi came to this conclusion as she saw the fabric stretched across his shoulders and around his arms.

His broad shoulders and back made his torso into the shape of an inverted A, meeting his narrow hips in a way that made Hiromi's heart skip beats.

"Aren't you going to say something nice about me? " Mai asked Zuko, overhearing Lu Ten's compliment towards Hiromi.

Zuko snapped out of his trance, studying Mai's features for the first time that night.

"Er-yes. Your hair looks, uh, very nice. " he cleared his throat and looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't said anything to her sooner.

He could practically hear Mai roll her eyes as she grabbed his arm and dragged him down the steps, causing him to stumble over his feet.

"Quit being so clumsy, brother. " Azula said, escorting herself down the stairs.

Zuko looked ahead at Hiromi, admiring the way she walked so gracefully next to his cousin. What was it about her that everyone seemed to be so drawn to? Yes, her overall appearance had improved since they were younger, but she wasn't much more beautiful than any other girl you might see walking down the street.

"I am completely smitten by you, Hiromi. " Lu Ten whispered to the young lady holding his arm.

He saw her cheeks blush and laughed, feeling like the happiest man alive. Her beautiful amber eyes looked up at him, sparkling in the light of the many flames surrounding them.

He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life the way he was now-with Hiromi by his side.

The music began as soon as Lu Ten's foot reached the last step of the staircase. He laughed and swept Hiromi out to the dance floor, all eyes on the unlikely pair.

Iroh watched from a distance as his son danced with Hiromi. He nudged the man next to him and smiled.

"Colonel Kaohsiung, it seems my son has taken a liking to your daughter."

Kaohsiung smiled, proud that his daughter had chosen such a nice and honorable young man. Aside from her hair, she was the spitting image of her mother, and he knew she would be happy for their daughter.

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?"

Iroh sighed in relief, happy that his son hadn't invited one of the many girls that pursued him to go to the dance. But he wondered why he would expect anything else from his son, he'd always loved Hiromi.

He remembered a day when Lu Ten was younger and he came into the palace complaining about Azula.

"All she does is pick on Hiromi and I wish she would stop. I don't like Hiromi being sad."

Lu Ten shook his head and removed his shoes, preparing to take a bath.

Iroh heard this from the hallway and stepped into his son's room, detouring from his original destination of the garden.

"What do you mean, Lu Ten? "

He turned around and bowed at his father, "I was talking about Azula. She's so mean to Hiromi. "

Iroh nodded his head and ran his fingers along his chin. "Why do you worry about her, son? Azula is mean to all of her friends. "

He saw Lu Ten's face turn red as he turned around. Iroh smiled knowingly, not prying any more from his son.

"Say no more, I understand completely. "

Lu Ten turned around and smiled sheepishly at his father, who walked forward to give him a hug.

"Tread carefully, women are delicate creatures. Treat her with respect, and you will have her unconditional love. " Iroh lifted his son's head towards him then smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Yes, father. "

Lu Ten remembered his father's words as he danced with Hiromi, the song nearing its end. He smiled at Hiromi, pulling her into his embrace as the last note left the instruments. He breathed in the smell of her hair, never wanting to let her go.

Kaohsiung proudly watched as his daughter danced with the future firelord, though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little worried about her. It was very apparent the two had strong feelings for each other, but he was concerned that she might be getting too ahead of herself. She was young, far too young to be considering marriage in his opinion.

He shook his head as he grabbed a drink from a passing waiter's tray, downing the burning liquid in one gulp.

"Dance with me, cousin." Azula said, pulling Lu Ten away from Hiromi.

He smiled apologetically, "Anything for you, birthday girl. "

He whisked her onto the dance floor and Hiromi smiled, stepping to the side so she wasn't in any other dancing people's way.

Zuko saw Hiromi standing alone and went to talk to her, but stopped when he saw his uncle ask her to dance with him. He instead searched for his mother, if he didn't find someone to talk to he would be confronted and asked to dance by Mai-something he wasn't anticipating.

"Can I have this dance, young lady? " Iroh bowed to Hiromi.

She laughed and smiled, "Of course you can, sir. "

He stood up, ramrod straight, and held out his hand. She grabbed it and he pulled her out in the middle of the floor to dance.

"You and my son have been spending a great deal of time together lately. " Iroh said, getting straight to the point.

A faint blush covered Hiromi's cheeks. "Yes sir, I do enjoy his company very much."

Iroh nodded his head, "Yes, and I can see he enjoys yours as well. "

"I'm very glad to hear that. " she smiled.

Iroh continued talking to Hiromi about how much he's seen her grow up since she's been born and about the wonderful young lady she'd become.

"You remind me so much of your mother. " he said, reminiscing as he seemed to look through Hiromi. She noticed a solemn look cross over his face as his eyes glazed over.

"I wish I had gotten to meet her. " Hiromi said, attempting to console him.

The song ended, "Her spirit is here with us, young Hiromi." he said as he smiled and walked away.

"Can I have the next dance? " Lu Ten asked, grabbing her hand and sequestering her once again to the magical dance floor.

Mai watched from a distance as Zuko made a buzzard-beeline for his mother. She knew he didn't like her, at least not how she liked him.

Mai searched for Hiromi, who would surely be dancing with Lu Ten somewhere. She scanned the room, full of robes in every shade of red, for the lively couple.

They were in the middle of the ballroom, it seemed as if everyone was dancing around them-mimicking them and trying to turn themselves into the young lovers.

Mai sighed, knowing that no one would ever look at her and Zuko that way.

Azula heard a loud sigh, one she immediately recognized as Mai's. She turned, expecting to also see her brother with her, but then laughed at her own naivety. Zuko would be trying his hardest to avoid Mai. She followed Mai's gaze and saw her staring at her cousin and Hiromi dancing in the middle of everyone.

Azula shuddered at the mere thought of her name. Hiromi, the girl who stole her mother away from her.

"Ursa always chooses Hiromi over me. " Azula thought, giving Mai a knowing look- something Mai acknowledged with a nod.

"I'm tired of being second to her. " Azula said to Mai, her hands growing hot as anger boiled inside her veins.

Azula watched as Hiromi and Ursa laughed together, their smiles lighting up the room.

"So. Tired." she said, stomping off, leaving a trail of smoke behind her.

"Zuko, why aren't you out dancing with Mai?" Ursa asked as her son approached her.

His face turned red. "I, uh, can't find her. "

He turned to face the dancing crowd, hiding his face from his mother.

"I see. " she said, smiling. She knew her son was avoiding Mai, subtle as he may try to act. She looked out to where Zuko was staring and saw Lu Ten and Hiromi dancing. Lu Ten had grown to be such a handsome young man, and Hiromi was well on her way to finally growing into her body. Her wavy hair almost reached her waist, and her nose and eyes that seemed too large for her face when she was younger were beginning to balance with the rest of her countenance very nicely. Ursa shook her head and smiled, knowing that Hiromi had always felt self-conscious and unproportionate.

"One day she will wake up and see that she is beautiful." Ursa thought to herself.

Zuko watched Hiromi dancing with Lu Ten amongst the sea of red robes. They looked like people inside of a music box, with the orange lights flickering above the two of them and the way they gracefully moved in each others arms.

"Hiromi, come with me. " Lu Ten said, pulling her with him out of the ballroom and into the garden.

Hiromi laughed and let her body trail behind his, going wherever he led her.

"Look how beautiful it is. " he said, gesturing towards the water surrounded by lanterns with his free hand.

Hiromi smiled and admired the sight, thinking of how much more beautiful the water was at night. She noted the darkness of the water and began second guessing herself. The surrounding lanterns combined with the reflection of the stars above it made the inky water appear luminous and deceived her eyes into thinking it pure. But still the water beckoned to her and called her to stand by its side. She released Lu Ten's hand and slowly walked to the dark, sparkling jewel that spread itself in the middle of the garden. The water lay stagnant, not being disturbed by the turtle ducks that were usually floating on its surface. Hiromi saw parts of the many slithering koi swimming in the middle of the pond, almost completely submerged by the jet black fluid.

Her foot touched the water and she jumped out of her trance.

"What are you doing? " Lu Ten laughed, putting his hand on Hiromi's shoulder and pulling her back towards him.

She smiled and turned around to look at him, admiring his sharp, defined facial features and deep brown eyes.

"I don't know. " she laughed and shrugged her shoulders, partially shuddering at the thought of stepping into the cold, tormenting water.

Lu Ten sat down and pulled Hiromi down next to him, wrapping his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder.

They sat like this for a while, talking to each other about anything that came to mind.

Lu Ten saw a petal fall from a tree and began to hum, gently squeezing Hiromi's hand.

Hiromi smiled and remembered the tune immediately, then began singing softly.

"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow. Like fragile, tiny shells drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy, come marching home. Brave soldier boy, comes -"

She was cut off by a rustling sound coming from the bushes.

"Who's there?" she shouted, standing up and starting towards the source of the noise.

She heard more shuffling followed by rapid footsteps in the other direction. She used her fire bending as a source of light, attempting to see beyond the hedges in front of her.

"Leave it alone. " Lu Ten said, "It was probably just some straggler from the party spying on people. "

He motioned for her to rejoin him and she did as instructed, but only after taking a final look back. She saw the shadow of a human disappear around the corner. She shivered and resumed her conversation with Lu Ten.

"Wow, that was close. " Ty Lee said, brushing off her dress. She had almost gotten caught trying to spy on Hiromi. She blushed, thinking of the way she saw Lu Ten pull Hiromi closer to him when she was searching for her.

She sighed, remembering the one time she thought she might have a chance with Lu Ten.

"Are you okay? " he asked, stepping towards Ty Lee.

She untangled herself from the knot she had previously tied herself into and stood upright, giggling at Lu Ten's silly question.

"Of course I'm okay! I'm actually better than ever!" she laughed and went into a handstand, smiling and tilting her head up at Lu Ten.

He laughed, "You're such a funny girl, Ty Lee. " he got on his stomach and laid at eye level with Ty Lee.

She eased herself down so that she was also laying on her stomach. Lu Ten smiled and then sat up on his knees, leaning back so that he was sitting on the balls of his feet. Ty Lee rolled over on her back, not once removing her glance from his. His smile got bigger and he closed his eyes. He shook his head and placed his hand in Ty Lee's hair, ruffling it around.

With that, he stood up and left, leaving Ty Lee's heart full of hope behind him.

Ty Lee sighed again at the conclusion of her thoughts and ran back into the ballroom, smoothing the top of her hair so that she still looked presentable.

Lu Ten no longer mattered to her, she was completely over him. Though she feels her feelings for him reemerge from time to time, she knows that it wasn't meant to be between the two of them- their auras just simply didn't match.

"If only Mai could see this about Zuko. " she thought to herself.

She entered the ballroom, immediately noticing her sisters all lined up next to each other. The sisters that all looked exactly like her. She started towards her family, preparing to blend in- like she was some sort of doll that was sat down on a shelf for collection. Part of a set.

Her whole life she'd been faced with suitors, suitors who didn't care which one of the dolls he got. The girls would play tricks on them, testing their loyalty.

One would ask for the oldest sister and they would send the youngest.

They never knew the difference.

They didn't care.

They just wanted to view the collection.

What was true about the suitors was also true to any friends the girls might have. The girls found out early on that the only real friends they would have is each other.

But the girls were content, they enjoyed the attention. They enjoyed the glamour.

All of them enjoyed it-except for Ty Lee.

It was torture for her, no one knowing one of them from the other. Her own parents often only referred to them as "the girls," never bothering to learn the difference between their own children.

She took a step towards them, then stopped.

"I don't have to be part of the collection. " she said to herself.

"I don't have to fit in. " she smiled, knowing what she needed to do.

She turned and casually walked out of the ballroom, kart wheeling out of the garden and climbing over the wall. She ran all the way to her house, put on commoners clothes, then left.

She didn't leave a note.

She didn't think twice.

She never looked back.

Lu Ten heard someone walk towards him and Hiromi as they sat quietly next to the turtle duck pond. He stood up and turned towards the noise, searching for any sign of movement.

"Have you seen Ty Lee? "Azula asked him, purposefully ignoring Hiromi.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she stood, sticking her chin in the air and away from the princess.

Azula rolled her eyes, "I've been looking everywhere and no one's seen her. "

Lu Ten thought back to the noise Hiromi heard in the bushes earlier and shivered, "What if someone captured her? They could be holding her for ransom. " he thought to himself. "But why wouldn't they take me or Hiromi?" he nearly laughed at this thought, remembering the way Hiromi stood, preparing to attack if anyone showed themselves.

"We'll help you look for her." Lu Ten said, stepping towards Azula.

"Oh, I don't need Hiromi's help. " she said fiendishly.

Mai appeared from behind Azula, "We don't need her help. Just yours, Lu Ten."

"That's odd. "Lu Ten thought, but immediately remembered how the air seemed to grow static when Hiromi was around Azula and her friends.

"Go back to the ballroom, I'll help them look for Ty Lee. " he said to Hiromi.

She nodded her head and started towards the party, glad to be away from Azula.

The party was still in full swing, no one remotely aware that the princess and her friends were out and about away from the celebration.

She stood in the back, scanning the room for a familiar face or a place to sit.

She saw an empty table on the other side of the room right beside a large window and made her way towards it, preparing to wait for Lu Ten to return or until someone else she knew came to talk.

She sat down, mesmerized by the sea of people before her. All were happy and excited, not one sad face in the crowd. She looked at the people and wondered how many of them she actually knew. She wondered if they were here to try and impress their friends or neighbors. She tried to pick out ones she hadn't seen before, but then realized she didn't know anyone before her and gave up. She only knew the people she grew up with, she'd never seen any of these adults or children. They were all too young to be in her class or old enough to have known the avatar.

She laughed, the avatar. No one had seen the avatar in decades, and no one probably ever would. She pitied the countless people sent to search for him, all failing in their endeavors.

"Can we join you? " Ursa asked, causing Hiromi to remove herself from her thoughts and rejoin the people around her.

"Of course." she smiled, motioning for Ursa and Zuko to take the seats beside her. Ursa purposefully left a seat between Hiromi and herself, intending for Zuko to take the open seat.

Instead, he sat in the seat on the other side of Ursa, causing a vein in Ursa's temple to throb painfully.

"Have you seen Azula?" Ursa asked, trying to start conversation, but also because she was a little worried about her daughter's extended absence.

"I believe she is with Mai and Lu Ten, they're looking for Ty Lee. "

Ursa nodded her head, accepting this answer.

"I'll go tell my husband, I will return shortly. " she got up and Zuko tried to follow her, but she stopped him. She squinted her eyes at him and nodded her head towards Hiromi, who was looking out the window at something.

Hiromi heard Zuko clear his throat and turned to look at him. She smiled at him and they began a conversation. They talked about where they think Ty Lee might be, Hiromi excluding her knowledge of the rustling bushes from the subject, about the part, and eventually about the people dancing.

"It's been hours since I've danced. " Hiromi said, remembering her last dance with Lu Ten.

"I haven't danced at all. " Zuko confessed, fidgeting his hands under the table.

Hiromi thought for a minute then stood up, walking over to Zuko and motioning for him to stand up and take her hand.

Zuko half-smiled and did what she wanted him to, leading her to the dance floor.

A new song was just beginning, the song Hiromi imagined would be the last song of the night.

Hiromi looked up at Zuko, who towered above her. His black hair was pulled back high on his head, leaving his dark gold eyes clear for observation.

Hiromi noted the light specks that surrounded his pupil and admired the way his eyes gradually shifted into a rich bronze color around the outside of his Iris.

She smiled at him as he led the two of them to the middle of the dance floor, making Hiromi the center of attention once again. The other dancers stopped and admired the two teenagers, watching the two of them share the last dance.

The song was only half way over, yet they were the only two dancing.

They both laughed as they took advantage of the open floor, practically flying on the reflections of the lanterns on the ground around them.

Ty Lee ran from her house and back towards the palace, wanting to see how the party was ending.

She saw two people dancing alone on the floor, recognizing Hiromi and her bright aura immediately.

She assumed her partner was Lu Ten, as his golden aura was shining brighter than ever, even brighter than it usually was when he was with Hiromi.

She smiled as she left, knowing their auras fit each other perfectly.

 **A/N- I hope this was enough to get you interested. Please tell me what you think, or if there's anything you think doesn't make sense. Peace out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Here's another chapter for y'all, hope you guys like it**

 **Two years later**

"I'll be back soon, I'm sure of it. Those Earth Kingdom people can't keep us out forever. " Lu Ten flashed a quick smile and hugged Hiromi as he prepared to leave the palace. He'd already said goodbye to the rest of his family, but wanted to make sure Hiromi was the last person he saw. In all honesty, he didn't know when he'd be back. The siege of the outer wall has lasted for almost 350 days, meaning it had been a little under a year since he'd seen his father. Lu Ten hummed the song his father had sang to him ever since he was a little boy as he walked to the Fire Navy ship that would take him to the Earth Kingdom. From there he would join his own father, as well as Hiromi's father, on the battlefront outside of Ba Sing Se, fighting for victory and honor for the fire nation.

Lu Ten took one look back at Hiromi, who he was sure was still smiling at him even as the doors to the palace closed. He missed her already, and was determined to fight his hardest so he could be back with the girl he loved.

Hiromi sighed and looked down at her hands as the doors to the palace were shut, serving as a barrier between her and the rest of the world. She turned around, walking to the one place she felt at peace with herself when Ursa and Lu Ten weren't around- the turtle duck pond.

She walked slowly through the halls of the daunting palace, but began shuffling hastily as she neared the garden and grew more anxious to sit and watch the turtle ducks.

The sky was as blue as ever, not a cloud in sight. The coming of spring brought with it the blooming of flowers and new life. Baby turtle ducks swam around in the pond, in the crystal clear water that's surface was lightly dusted with pollen. Baby sparrow squirrels hopped around their nests in the cherry blossom trees, waiting for their mothers to bring them something to eat. Even the butterfly beetles, newly emerged from their stage of metamorphosis, appeared to be acting playful and childlike.

Hiromi smiled and sat underneath a nearby tree, laughing at the three turtle ducks that soon surrounded her.

"You all know me too well. " she said, removing her hand from under her satchel, revealing a cookie. She crumbled it into small pieces and held her hand out, giggling as the turtle ducks tickled her palm while they ate from it.

"I'm all out, you guys. I'm sorry. "she apologized as more turtle ducks began surrounding her. They nuzzled their heads against her dress, begging for another cookie. Many of the newborn ones also began approaching her, unsure of whether she was a trustworthy person or not.

Hiromi thought of Azula and how she used to always mistreat these creatures, throwing rocks and whole loaves of bread and who knows what else at them as they swam in the pond. She understood why they would be untrusting of her at first, but she knew they would warm up to her.

After the turtle ducks realized she didn't have any more food, many of them left. Some stayed, content and comfortable with her mere presence, and allowed Hiromi to pet and play with them. Hiromi loved the way their soft feathers transitioned into the hard shell of their backs. She counted the age of the animals that stayed beside her, most of them between five and eight, but some as young as two or three years old.

Their chirping noises soon grew more frantic as they started towards the pond, scared off by an approaching human.

Hiromi turned around and saw Zuko behind her, holding a few loaves of bread.

"Do you mind if I join you? "he said, avoiding all eye contact.

While this suspicious gesture unsettled her, she accepted- trying to get him to look her in the eyes. Zuko handed her a loaf of bread and sat parallel to Hiromi, expecting turtle ducks to come flocking towards him.

After sitting under the tree for a few minutes, Zuko broke the silence.

"Do you miss your dad?" He asked Hiromi.

Hiromi thought of this question, of course she missed him- but it seemed like he'd been gone longer than he'd been at war.

He was never around, not even when she was young. He'd never been the father her friends had, or the father she wanted him to be. He didn't bring her to fire bending lessons or eat dinner with her at home. He would occasionally experience a change of heart and attempt to spend more time with her, but this never lasted more than a few days- a week at the most.

Hiromi simply nodded her head in response, picturing what her life would be like if her mother hadn't died giving birth to her. She'd seen paintings of her parents that had been made before she was born. The artist seemed to perfectly capture the happiness in her father's eyes, something that was no longer present.

"Are you sad that Lu Ten left as well?"

Zuko watched her facial expressions as she formed an answer in her head. He saw her mouth open slightly as she began to answer, then close back together and purse her lips together. She looked towards the pond, but not at it. It seemed as if she were looking further into it, searching for something beyond the surface of the crystal water- for some kind of answer that had sunken into its shallow depths long ago that she was trying to resurface from its icy fathoms.

"I'm sad that I'll miss him, but I know this is something he's always dreamed of doing- fighting alongside his father for the fire nation. I have no doubt both my father and Lu Ten will return victorious in no time." She nodded and smiled at me, content with her answer.

But as she looked back out into the pond, Zuko sensed the slightest hint of tension in her silence- a fault in her feigned sense of confidence.

She was scared.

Hiromi smiled as she released the messenger hawk out of her bedroom window. Two letters were inside the parcel- one for her father and one for Lu Ten.

"Hiromi, your breakfast is ready!" a maid shouted from the kitchen.

"Just a minute!" she replied, attempting to run a comb through her disheveled hair.

Hiromi sighed as she studied herself in the mirror- her murky eyes were tired, her hair frizzy from being freshly brushed, and her skin was starting to break out from all of her stress.

"Maybe I can at least do something about my hair." she said as she searched for a ribbon to tie her hair up with. She didn't see anything on her dresser right away, so she decided to search in a jewelry box that had sat untouched for many weeks- if not months.

Hiromi opened the box and shoveled through its many contents, pushing aside rings and bracelets she had never worn. At the bottom of the box was a black ribbon that was slightly frayed at the ends. She pulled it out, but as she began to tie her hair back she noticed a comb that was previously believed to be long gone.

She set the ribbon next to her mirror and snatched the comb out of the box as if it were going to disappear if she didn't grab it right that moment. Hiromi smiled and ran her finger over the intricate design on it, admiring its craftsmanship.

It was the same comb Ursa had given her many years before, the comb with a large red rose set above smaller black flowers surrounded by gold. She looked in the mirror and pinned her hair back behind her ear, setting its black teeth at such an angle that it wouldn't allow her hair to fall in her face.

Hiromi ignored the frizziness of her hair as she walked down the hallway into the kitchen, where her breakfast sat waiting for her to enjoy in solace- as it always did.

"What adventure are you going to have today, Miss Hiromi?" the maid said as she cleaned up from breakfast.

"I'll probably go to the palace and see Ursa, as usual." she replied, smiling at the woman.

"Will you be returning for lunch?"

"No ma'am." she answered.

Hiromi began to get up before she added, "But I will be back for dinner, Miss Kiyoko."

Kiyoko smiled and went back into the kitchen, where she would probably spend the rest of her day.

Hiromi thought of Kiyoko as she walked to the palace. She was a kind woman, about 40 years old, who had been working for her family as long as she could remember.

Hiromi used to make a game of guessing what it was like for Kiyoko growing up. She had been the oldest of eight children, and her parents were constantly working. It had always been her responsibility to take care of her brothers and sisters- to make sure they were fed, bathed, and in bed at appropriate times so that they could go to school in the morning. Which, Hiromi concluded, was probably why she was so skilled at cooking, cleaning, and caring for Hiromi and her father when he was home. Their parents never returned until late at night, when almost everyone was asleep, and had to wake up very early in the morning. Kiyoko, as well as her siblings, never got to spend a lot of quality time with their mother and father.

"I guess we have that in common, Kiyoko." Hiromi said to herself as she approached the palace.

One of the guards nodded his head at Hiromi as she entered the gates and she smiled in return. The large doors closed loudly behind her, echoing for what seemed like forever after they had actually been shut.

"Hiromi, I'm so glad you're here." Azula said, holding a doll wearing earth kingdom clothing in her hand.

Upon closer observation, Hiromi noticed that the doll was badly singed, with black soot covering its face.

"I'm delighted to see you as well, Princess." Hiromi hissed back, feeling the air grow cold around them despite their elemental bloodline.

The girls smiled at each other, the friction surrounding them growing more intense. They stood, quietly staring into each others eyes- the cold, dense air between them causing their breathing to become more difficult.

Azula finally broke the deafening silence, "I suppose I'll see you around, Hiromi."

Hiromi smiled, "I'll be counting the seconds."

The Princess laughed in response as she walked away, "Don't hold your breath."

Hiromi rolled her eyes right before Azula stopped and turned back towards her, "On second thought, maybe you should." she looked at Hiromi in disgust and continued deeper into the palace, disappearing around the doorway.

Azula burned the doll her uncle had sent her weeks before in her hands, forgetting why she had gotten it out in the first place, until it became nothing but ashes that she released outside into the wind. She watched the small black specks dissipate as the wind carried them beyond the palace walls.

"Good riddance." Azula said, thinking of the repulsively ugly doll her oh-so-gracious uncle had gifted her.

"And for Azula, a new friend." her mother had read aloud upon her receiving the doll. Azula had looked down at it, immediately annoyed by the way its beady black eyes sat on its face. She threw it into the corner of her room as soon as she left her mother's sight.

Azula stopped reminiscing and looked out into the garden, pretending she wasn't jealous of Hiromi- who was sitting by the turtle duck pond with Ursa, laughing and talking and feeding the animals that surrounded them.

She had never done this with her own mother. Did she want to? Of course, but Ursa never would give her the time of day to do so. She hated Azula- she thought she was a monster.

Azula cringed at the hurt she felt thinking of her mother's words one day.

"What is wrong with that child?"

Azula had pretended she couldn't hear what her mother had said. She bit back the tears that were threatening to come out any moment.

 _That child._

Azula would be the first to admit it- she was, indeed, a monster. But the way her mother had said that. It was as if, well, as if she wasn't even her daughter anymore. Azula was just "that child."

Even her mother didn't want her.

"How long has it been since you've seen your uncle?" Hiromi asked Zuko, tossing some bread crumbs into the pond. She laughed to herself as many of the young turtle ducks swam towards the treat, running over each other in the process.

"About a year and a half." he replied, not looking away from the pond.

Hiromi nodded her head, she already knew the answer to her question- she just needed something to say to interrupt the heavy silence.

She knew it had been 597 days since she had seen her father, and 247 days since she had seen Lu Ten. While the fire nation had already broken through the outer wall, who knows how long it would be before they started falling back. All the soldiers were tired- her father and Lu Ten had both told her in their letters that they would rather perform Agni kai with prince Ozai than suffer one more minute of the fighting their way through the kingdom's fortifications.

Hiromi shivered, remembering Zuko's reaction when she had told him what the letters had said about his father.

"Well, I'd have to agree with them." he had said, "My father is a ruthless man." He had a cold look in his golden brown eyes, the fire inside of them dimming at the thought of his unmerciful father.

Hiromi quickly glanced at Zuko, who was still focused on the pond. He had changed so much since they were little. Though they were almost the same age, it had always seemed as if Zuko was many years younger than Hiromi. Many times, Hiromi noted, even Ursa had mistaken Hiromi for an older age.

Perhaps it was because she was always with Lu Ten rather than Zuko. Until recently, Hiromi never really acknowledged the lack of age difference between the two of them. His birthday was only a few weeks before hers, yet she never paid this any attention until that moment.

"It's almost your birthday." Hiromi said, causing Zuko to look up out of his trance.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yours too." he smiled and looked up at Hiromi for a split second, then back out at the pond.

He heard Hiromi exhale loudly and shift her body more upright against the tree.

Zuko shook his head and looked up at the sky. They weren't the same kinds of friends as they used to be. Not that they were ever very close, they just had always gotten along exceptionally well. They had gone from being able to talk about anything to hardly being able to hold a conversation in a matter of weeks. Their awkward relationship started right after Lu Ten had left. Without Lu Ten, the only person Hiromi could spend time with, other than Ursa, was Zuko. This made them both feel as if they were in each other's company simply because they had no other options- which made the entire friendship mostly unpleasant.

"I need to leave." Zuko said, brushing the dirt off his pants.

"I'll see you around." Hiromi said, smiling up at him.

Zuko nodded his head and went towards the palace, leaving Hiromi by herself under the large cherry blossom tree.

"Have you seen Hiromi around?" Ursa said to Zuko as she passed him on her way to the garden.

"Yeah, she's by the turtle duck pond."

Ursa laughed at herself for having to ask- of course that's where Hiromi was, it's where she always was.

The tall ceiling of the palace hung over Ursa very dauntingly. The red silk that hung from it swayed back and forth with the breeze- causing it to resemble the flames that the palace represented. The high ceilings reminded Ursa of the theater she used to dream of performing in when she was growing up.

An elderly woman looked out into the hallway as Ursa passed by. Ursa bit her lip- still feeling hurt from the woman, Elua, betraying her trust.

After Ursa was practically forced into her marriage with Prince Ozai, she was ordered by him to tell her family that they had been good to her- meaning she was now letting go of them as part of her life. Being very family-oriented, Ursa tried to keep ties with her family and friends, namely Ikem, strong.

Ursa had long suspected that Ozai had been intercepting her letters to her family and ex-fiance, so she decided to test her theory by writing a letter to Ikem containing false information. She wrote that Zuko was not Prince Ozai's son, but Ikem's. After going months without receiving recognition for her treasonous letter, Ursa had long thought her suspicions to be false.

However, her suspicions were confirmed when Ozai addressed her about the letter she had written to her previous love.

"Proof of your treason is living under this roof."

"Ozai, you know as well as I do that Zuko is your son."

"Then why did you write this down?"

Ursa started to speak, then lost her courage. She thought of Ikem when he asked for her hand in marriage. Ursa laughed, remembering how silly she felt when she thought he had been reciting lines from the script when he had asked her to marry him. The memory of him alone was enough to reignite her courage.

"Because I never wanted him to be." She coldly spat, her eyes glaring a hole into him.

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. As true as it was, there was no way Ozai was going to tolerate anyone talking to him like that- especially her.

He was furious, not only did he tell her of the Yuyan archer he hired to have Ikem killed, but that he was going to give Ursa her wish. He was going to act as if Zuko were, in fact, not of his own blood. He told her that she must pay attention, for any time she sees Ozai treating Zuko as if he were alien to the palace and the rest of the royal family- it would only be because he was giving his wife what she wanted.

She shook these memories out of her head as Elua shut the door to her bedroom, uncomfortable with Ursa's presence in the hallway.

Ursa continued towards the turtle duck pond in the palace garden, smiling when she saw Hiromi sitting under the cherry blossom tree.

They talked about the letters Hiromi had received over the years from her father and Lu Ten. Ursa thought of how much she's seen the Hiromi grow up since she began coming to the palace- specifically under the cherry blossom tree by the turtle duck pond. She had gone from a timid little girl who was just learning how to firebend to a brave young woman who was going to one day become the fire lord's wife.

The ladies were both lying on their backs, looking up at the sky, when a guard approached them.

"Princess Ursa." The messenger said, kneeling and holding out a scroll to Ursa.

Ursa dismissed the messenger, who solemnly looked back at the women. Ursa sat up and opened the letter.

Hiromi heard Ursa gasp, dropping the letter

She sat up and reached for the letter, looking up at Ursa for confirmation that she was allowed to read it.

"Hiromi-" she sobbed, reaching out for Hiromi's hand.

"Ursa, what is it?" she said, reading the first line of the letter.

 _We regret to inform you about the untimely demise of Prince Lu Ten..._

She couldn't read the rest of it.

Hiromi tried to get up, but got lightheaded and had to sit back down. Her vision soon became blurry. "He isn't coming back." Hiromi said, then repeated it several more times- her voice growing louder each time.

"Hiromi, it isn't just Lu Ten." Ursa sobbed, burying her face into her dress.

"No, not Iroh too." Hiromi shook her head, thinking of the man who had acted as her father her whole life.

"It wasn't Iroh." Ursa said, "Hiromi, your father, he- I'm so sorry."

And just like that, her world as she knew it shattered around her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- not much editing was done to this chapter, the same can't be said for the rest of them**

 **Several days later**

Zuko threw his hands up in rage, how could Lu Ten do this to him? How could he do this to Hiromi?

He just left them there at the palace, knowing that their lives were miserable without him.

He looked at a letter Lu Ten had written to him that was sitting on his dresser, remembering what it had said.

" _I just feel like it would be so easy to give up, I want to be back home with Hiromi- but I don't know how much longer I can fight. She's the only thing keeping me alive, cousin Zuko. I am fighting for her."_

"That's why he's gone!" Zuko shouted, throwing a bottle that was on his dresser across the room. "He just gave up." Zuko added in a whisper, falling to his knees.

His eyes became flooded with tears- his heart overrun with emotion. Lu Ten had been his best friend, now who could he turn to? Hiromi had almost no reason to return to the palace, other than to see Ursa. He cringed, thinking of the pain she must feel- losing both the love of her life and her father in the same day.

Zuko remembered a conversation he had with Azula after they got the news.

"Uncle Iroh lost. He's coming home."

"He didn't lose! He's probably just upset that he lost his only son."

She began to ramble about how Iroh was weak and a bunch of other nonsense, but Zuko hadn't been listening.

If Iroh was returning, Hiromi might come around to see him- he was practically her second father, he actually would have been her second father if it weren't for the tragedies of war.

"Miss Hiromi, I was instructed to give this to you by General Kaohsiung in the event of his demise."

Hiromi looked up from her breakfast at the messenger, tears in her eyes. She nodded her head, dismissing him from her presence.

"My condolences, Miss Hiromi." he said as he handed her the parcel.

She pushed her breakfast out of the way and set the large envelope in front of her, not sure what to expect. Hiromi sobbed a few times, took a deep breath, and opened it.

Inside was a letter, a painting of her mother and father, and an...Earth Kingdom passport? What was this about?

Hiromi opened the letter, which read:

 _My dearest daughter, if you are reading this it can only mean one of two things. Something unspeakable has happened to me, or it is your eighteenth birthday. I pray with all my heart it be the latter, but I know that's not how destiny works. I am so sorry if it is the first one. I love you more than anything in this world, dear Hiromi. There isn't a thing I wouldn't do to make you happy._

 _I'm sorry I haven't been there for you all these years. After your mother died, I lost myself in my work. It consumed me and I didn't have time to spend with you. By the time I realized this, I was already promoted to Colonel and it was too late for me to turn back. I regretted joining the higher ranks of the army and wished there was something I could do to make the clock go back._

Hiromi cried as she continued reading the letter, her father continuing to write about how sorry he was that he hasn't been there for me.

 _You remind me so much of your mother, especially when I see you bend. I know your mother wasn't a firebender- but she was a bender, nonetheless._

What was he talking about?

 _I need to tell you how your mother and I met, something I should have done a long time ago. She had been a prisoner of war, a young Earth Kingdom girl that I rescued from imprisonment. I was captivated by her beauty, but I fell in love with the lady she was. She was brave, spirited, funny, loving- everything I could have hoped to find in a soulmate. Iroh discovered our love affair and helped me forge fire nation documents, claiming she had grown up in one of the colonies. She easily passed for a fire nation woman, with her dark hair and golden eyes- not to mention her fiery attitude. She was the most determined lady at the palace, and when it was discovered she was going to have our first baby- we were ecstatic._

 _This child wasn't you, Hiromi._

 _Don't fret, you don't have a long lost brother or sister anywhere around. Your mother had a miscarriage with this first child. As a result, we didn't tell many people of your conception when it was discovered we were going to have another child- this time you._

 _This proved to be a mistake, my mistake. We didn't want to make a big scene about your birth, in case something went wrong with your delivery. Your mother and I both thought it would be best if we kept everything quiet- she couldn't bare seeing everyone's faces look at her as if she had failed me. When it came time for you to be born, we didn't call very many doctors or housewives to assist your mother. The doctor said there was nothing we could have done to prevent what happened- but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we had just brought in a few more people to help with the delivery. I miss Akemi so much, Hiromi, I really do._

Akemi. It had been so long since she had heard her mother's name.

 _Hiromi, there's one more thing I need to tell you concerning your mother- it's the reason for the Earth Kingdom passport that was in the envelope with this letter._

Hiromi had forgotten all about the passport, she looked at it to make sure it was still hidden inside the envelope.

 _Akemi was being held as a prisoner by the fire nation not because she was a powerful earthbender, but because of her ties to the royal family._

 _Akemi had been the crown princess of the Earth Kingdom._

Hiromi looked up from the letter, making sure no one was standing around her- making sure no one had somehow found out this information.

 _I left the passport in here in case you wanted to pursue a life outside of this dangerous nation. I wanted to give you a chance at a new life- a choice your mother and I weren't blessed with. If you choose to see your family in the Earth Kingdom, and I am no longer around, you will need to speak to Iroh about what to do next._

 _I love you, Hiromi. Never forget that. And never forget who you are- don't lose yourself in the big things, dearest daughter._

 _I love you so much. -dad_

Hiromi watched with blurry vision as her tears fell onto the parchment. Oh, how she wished the letter would have gone on forever.

"I love you too, dad." Hiromi whispered, pulling the passport out of the envelope. Her name was written on it in beautiful handwriting, no doubt her mother's.

"Hiromi Hou-Ting" it read, her earth kingdom name written proudly next to the large, golden earth insignia seal at the top right-hand corner of the passport.

It was artistically designed, with its green and gold designs shining metallically.

"What am I supposed to even do now?" Hiromi asked, crying into her hands.

She heard shuffling behind her.

"Who's there?" she shouted, stuffing the letter and passport into the envelope before she turned around, her hands blazing with fire so pure that it was nearly white.

She saw movement further down the hallway and shot a hot whip of flames towards the figure, confident that if it were Kiyoko she would have announced her presence before she even entered the house as she always did.

"Please, I didn't mean to startle you." an familiar voice said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Iroh!" Hiromi shouted, running to hug the old man.

He laughed and returned her hug, then picked up a basket he had carried there with him.

"I need to discuss something with you." Iroh said, already walking out the door.

Hiromi nodded her head and followed him, knowing she was on her way to having a picnic with Iroh.

As they approached a large tree in the field behind her home, she took note of how much Iroh had aged since she last saw him.

It wasn't just his title that had changed, with the death of fire lord Azulon, prince Ozai had become heir to the throne. But his once happy eyes were now weighted down with the death of his, of their, beloved Lu Ten. His hair had grown much more white than gray. His walk was even different: instead of walking with his usual confident stride, he trudged around as if he were weighted down- slowly and slightly hunched over.

Iroh laid out a blanket and began making some tea for the two of them.

"I assume you've read the letter your father sent you." Iroh said, not looking up from his tea making.

"Oh, um, yes." Hiromi said, then added, "Sir."

Iroh chuckled, "You don't have to be nervous around me, Hiromi. I've known about this long before you were born. Your secret is safe with me."

Did Iroh know of her ties to the royal family? Surely not- if he had just spent nearly 600 days attempting to capture the city that was evidently her family's.

"I know that your mother was once a prisoner of the fire nation, a dangerous earth bender that we captured outside of the walls of Ba Sing Se."

So he didn't know.

"Do you want to go back to the earth kingdom?" Iroh asked, handing her a glass of tea.

Hiromi had to keep herself from chuckling at his question, how could she go back if she had never been there to begin with?

"I don't know." she said, ignoring the logical fallacies of the question.

"You don't have to." Iroh started, "You can stay here in the fire nation with the royal family. I've always seen you as my own daughter, and just because you are no longer going to be with my son is no reason for that to change."

Hiromi tried not to cry, but this was the first time someone had said it to her aloud- that she could no longer be with Lu Ten. But this didn't keep her from considering his offer, it made sense for her to stay with Iroh- she had practically lived in the palace her whole life, they might as well have been her family. Plus, who's to say that her family in the earth kingdom would take her in? A girl that was previously engaged to the future crown prince of the fire nation claims to be a part of the royal family in the earth kingdom and they just accept it and let her in? It sounded even crazier each time the said it to herself.

"I will stay with your family, Iroh. The palace is my home, regardless of where my blood is."

He smiled and nodded his head, accepting my answer.

Ursa handed her husband the poison- the throne for a life.

That was the promise she had made to him- she had made him an untraceable poison to kill his father with in exchange for the life of their son- in exchange for Zuko's life.

She ran down the hallway into Azula's room, kissing her on the cheek and saying goodbye.

She then snuck into Zuko's room, planning to do the same thing- except he woke up.

"Zuko, my love, listen. I want you to know that everything I've done, I've done to protect you. Don't forget who you are." He laid back down and went to sleep, Ursa watching him drift away as she snuck out of his bedroom the same way she came in.

As the fire sages assisted her onto the small boat, she watched Ozai's evil stare follow her out of the tunnel under the palace. The night sky was beautiful above her, but it was only a mask. It masked the murder that was taking place under it, it was masking her broken heart.

She only had one place to go, and that was where this all began.

Home.

Hiromi watched Zuko as he attempted to walk into the war meeting, being denied entry by the guards that attended the door.

Iroh then approached him, shared some words with him, and spoke to the guards. They stepped out of the way, allowing both of the princes to enter.

Hiromi continued out towards the turtle duck pond, the only place she ever went any more. She was slowly losing everyone that was important to her: her father, Lu Ten, and now Ursa. Next thing she knows Iroh and Zuko were going to be leaving too, knowing her luck.

"Maybe I should have gone." Hiromi said to herself, sitting down under the familiar cherry blossom tree. It seemed the ground had grown accustom to her and Ursa sitting under the tree- as it dipped ever so slightly in the perfect shape for her to rest against the tree comfortably.

Many turtle ducks ran to greet her, chirping excitedly at her presence.

Hiromi smiled and pulled a loaf of bread out of her pocket.

"Hello, Hiromi." a dull voice called out from behind her.

Hiromi turned around, "Oh, hello Mai. Care to join me?"

Mai studied her and shrugged her shoulders, "Sure, I have nothing better to do."

Hiromi tore the bread loaf in half and handed one piece to Mai, who smiled and accepted her peace offering.

The two girls had a pleasant and civil conversation- something that seemed to happen more frequently as long as Azula wasn't around. They laughed and fed the turtle ducks, who were eager to meet Mai.

"It was odd seeing Mai so, well, happy." Hiromi thought, tossing more crumbs to the turtle ducks.

"I'm very sorry about everything that's happened recently." Mai spat out, looking out at the pond- something everyone seemed to do in attempts to avoid eye contact. Not that she blamed her, the pond was mystifying, its beauty so simple and elegant- it was hard not to by captivated by it, even during conversation.

"It's not your fault," Hiromi started, interrupted by the sound of shouting coming from the room the war meeting was in.

Mai and Hiromi shared a worried look and ran towards the shouting, leaving the loaves of bread behind them.

Just as Hiromi was in hearing distance, the only thing the heard before her head went spinning was Zuko challenging someone, a general, to Agni Kai.

Everything seemed to be happening at once to Hiromi. The death of the two most important men in Hiromi's life, the introduction of her biological mother's lineage, the disappearance of the only mother figure Hiromi has ever had, and now the banishment of Hiromi's last friend- who was banished by his own father, nonetheless. Hiromi sat down on her bed, looking at the array of memories set before her.

Everything she looked at brought back a reminder of her home in the fire nation. She didn't have a place here any more, but could she really just up and leave her past behind? She looked at the messy arrangement of various combs on her vanity, all of which were gifts from Lu Ten and Ursa.

She looked at the box of letters from Lu Ten that had been emptied onto the floor around her. She looked at the simple parchment it had been written on and the creases some held from being folded up for so long. How many of these had she read more than once? How many of these did she reply to? Hiromi began picking up the letters and reading them one by one, each one more painful to read than the last. As the letters were refolded and placed back into the box, Hiromi became fascinated by the closing line of all of the letters. Each of the letters ended with "Always yours, Lu Ten." She contemplated these words, she wondered what they really meant.

"Lu Ten will always be with me," Hiromi thought. "and he wants me to always be with him."

Hiromi stood up as she placed the last of the letters in the box. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and made a promise to herself- that she would never love again.

As Kiyoko began dinner that night, Hiromi thought of Iroh's last words to her.

"You can come with me, you know. You can leave the fire nation with my nephew and me."

Could Hiromi leave all of the memories she had with Lu Ten? Could she leave the ones she had of Ursa?

She certainly couldn't stay with Azula with good conscience, but what other choice did she have? Hiromi thought of the turtle duck pond and the cherry blossom trees in the garden. She thought of Kiyoko and her father. She thought of the mother she never knew and the woman who acted as her mother. Hiromi looked around, she could still see where they had made their memories together. She saw the table where her father would eat dinner with her when she was home. She imagined him making a silly joke about her and her firebending. She tried to remember his hearty laugh, the way it would echo through their quiet, empty home.

Hiromi stopped at that thought.

"I only thought it was empty then."

Kiyoko turned her head slightly towards Hiromi, "What did you say, m'lady?"

Hiromi looked back at the older woman and feigned a soft smile, "I was only talking to myself, sorry Miss Kiyoko."

Kiyoko nodded her head and continued cooking, frowning at the thought of what pain the poor young lady must've been experiencing. Her thoughts soon drifted off into reminiscent memories of her childhood, from when she was Hiromi's age. She remembered her brothers being sent to war, and she said a silent prayer, thanking the spirits for having kept her family safe during her times of hardship.

Iroh stood in the garden, trying to contemplate the events of the past few weeks. He looked at the turtle duck pond before him, the stars above illuminating its surface. He closed his eyes and tried to picture his son standing next to him, smiling and laughing at something he or Iroh had done. The now retired general sighed and let his shoulders slump over, not making any attempt to pick himself up. His fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands next to the water. He cursed the man who took his son from him, he cursed the day Iroh decided to lay siege to the impenetrable city. Iroh reflected on his time outside of Ba Sing Se, the countless days and nights he spent wishing he was home with his son. He remembered lying awake at night, the screams of the earth kingdom soldiers haunting his memories. Iroh looked up at the moon, wondering how many people of the earth kingdom were looking at this same moon at this very same moment. His mind drifted off into wondering the same about the water tribes of the north and south and people of the fire nation colonies. He thought of the war that had lasted over 100 years, the war that caused an entire nation of people, the air nomads, to go extinct. Iroh wondered what all their differences were aside from their respective element or nation they were born into. Would Iroh ever see a world where men and women were defined not by their birthplace, but by their character? They all looked up at the same moon, breathed the same air, walked on this same earth. They all would burn when they played with fire, and Iroh saw that the war was nearing its breaking point.

Just as Iroh came to this conclusion, he saw a single cherry blossom petal fall from the tree behind him and drift into the dark water of the turtle duck pond. Iroh nodded his head, as if accepting some sort of challenge from the garden itself.

"I agree. It's time for change."

He dusted off his knees and returned to his quarters, where he would spend this last night before leaving to help his nephew search for the avatar at dawn.

As Iroh walked to his room, he couldn't help but hesitate at where his son once would have slept.

He stopped at the doorway, taking one deep breath before pushing on the door and walking into the cold, dark room. Iroh shivered and held back his tears as he stepped in, closing the door behind him.

The bed was still made, his books hadn't moved from their places on the bookshelves since he had left for Ba Sing Se. Iroh let his fingers run across the spines of the books, their ridges cold to the touch. He looked across the moonlit room at his son's nightstand, all of its contents arranged neatly on the wooden surface. Iroh shook his head as he sat down on the floor.

"Lu Ten was never this neat." he whispered, growing sadder and sadder as he examined the room.

Everything in this room had once belonged to Lu Ten, but it wasn't him. The room wasn't what made Lu Ten who he was, and neither were its contents. Lu Ten's contagious laugh and smile is what drew people to him. His charming personality and tall figure is what caught everyone's attention, not the books on his shelf. Iroh wasn't going to grieve properly trying to immerse himself in Lu Ten's belongings- all Iroh had left were the memories of his only son. All he had left were the dreams Lu Ten would wander into every night, dreams of Lu Ten as a child- when he would play games with Iroh. These were what would keep Lu Ten alive in Iroh's heart, not sitting on his floor trying to imagine Lu Ten in his room. Thinking of his son's laugh is what would heal his broken heart, remembering his smile is what would keep him from falling off the edge, looking at Hiromi is what would remind him what a lucky man he is that his son could have impacted so many people in a positive way.

Iroh thought of Hiromi.

"Is she coming with us?"

Iroh stood up and brushed off his knees, his hands slightly damp from being cried into. He walked the rest of the way back to his room, using all his strength not to look back at the closed room he had left behind.

He knew the room wasn't what was going to help him, but that didn't keep Iroh from wishing his son would magically reappear out of that bedroom happier than ever.

If only Iroh could see him one last time.

He would remember to tell Lu Ten how much he loved him.

He would remember to give him one last hug.

He would remember to drink tea with him one last time before Lu Ten had to go, that way his memories of drinking tea with his son wouldn't be as fleeting.

Iroh would write down everything he could, trying to describe the way Lu Ten's smile lit up a room. He would try his best to draw a picture of his son, capturing the happiness in his eyes as no artist had ever done before.

Iroh shook his head, trying to make his mind think of less impossible things, such as Hiromi.

He needed to talk to her.

A loud, brief noise outside of Zuko's window woke him up from his deep slumber. He shot up out of bed, immediately regretting his sudden movement when a headache comparable to a lightning strike engulfed his brain, causing him to slowly lay back down. Zuko reached for the glass of water next to him, but the bandages covering one side of his face distorted his depth perception, causing him to knock the glass over and spill its contents all over the floor.

"Aaagh!" Zuko shouted in frustration, throwing his hands above his head. He felt his heart beating in his eye, the painful reminder of that day's events.

He remembered his father's words, the words that would forever haunt him.

 _And suffering will be your teacher._

After that, everything was white. That's all he would see anymore: white. The white light of fire, of moonlight, the blinding white light of rage. Zuko huffed, thinking it accurately captured the essence of his feelings at the moment.

He closed his eyes and began to drift back to sleep.

Until he heard the noise again.

"Who's there?" he shouted, this time deciding to slowly get out of bed.

He felt his foot touch the cold, wet spot on the floor where he had spilt water, being careful not to slip as he walked towards his open window.

"I said, who's there?" he shouted again, this time louder and while hanging his head out of the window.

"Psst! Down here!" Hiromi had her hands cupped around her mouth so that he voice would carry more towards the prince's window.

Zuko quickly pulled his head back inside, ignoring the throbbing in his face and grabbing a cloak to wear over his head. He needed something to hide his mark of shame from Hiromi. He looked back out at her to make sure she was still there, "I'll be down there in just a second!" He half-whispered back down to her.

She nodded her head and ducked back down into the bushes, which is when Zuko noticed a medium-sized knapsack draped across her back.

He walked out into the moonlight, his bandages still hidden by the cloak that was over his head and shoulders.

"Hiromi, why are you here?" he asked, helping her out of the bush she was hidden behind.

"Because," she started, standing up straight, "I'm going with you."

Hiromi carelessly propped her elbows on Zuko's bedroom window, resting her face in her hands. Was she ready to leave the fire nation? How could she leave everything she's ever known without any second thoughts? Hiromi lifted her face out of her hands and looked out into the courtyard. She could barely see the turtle duck pond from where she was, but that didn't prevent her from thinking about it. The garden is where she grew up. It's where she made her first friends, it was where she found love- the love she found for Lu Ten and for Ursa. Hiromi looked up at the stars and remembered how beautifully they always reflected off of the dark water at night time. She smiled and thought about when she was younger, when the only reason she tried to avoid confrontation with Azula was while they were playing tag. Hiromi grimaced at the very thought of the princess, who obviously hated Hiromi for some reason. She wished with all her heart that she could respond to the princess's snide comments with firebending, but Hiromi knew that wouldn't be in her best interest. Azula had improved greatly since the two of them were children, and Azula took up fire bending with great ease- maybe even more so than Hiromi had. Azula's skill in bending was rumored to have surpassed that of all her teachers, and Hiromi wasn't exactly eager to try and disprove them.

"I never realized you were such a light sleeper." Hiromi said, sitting down on the foot of his bed.

"Yeah, well not everyone sleeps like a rock like my uncle." Zuko said just as a loud snoring sound rumbled down the hallway.

They both looked at each other and laughed silently, "Why are you doing this?" Zuko asked once the room became silent again.

"Sitting on your bed?"

"No, why are you coming with me? You aren't the one who was banished." Zuko looked down as he said this, revealing to Hiromi his now nearly bald head.

"Well, neither is your uncle." Hiromi retorted.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko said, looking back up at her.

"Wait, you didn't know Iroh was coming with you?" Hiromi asked, raising an eyebrow at the injured prince.

"I mean, I don't know. I guess I didn't really think about it," he paused, taking a moment to think before he continued. "But Iroh really is coming with us?"

Hiromi nodded in confirmation, "He asked me to come with the two of you."

"And you agreed?"

Hiromi nodded her head once more, "I mean, yeah. You and Iroh are all I have left besides Kiyoko. I didn't really have much of a choice unless I wanted to become buddies with Azula."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Like that would ever happen. "

Hiromi laid down on the bed perpendicular to Zuko, "Why doesn't she like me?"

Zuko shrugged his shoulders, his mind drifting to thoughts far from Azula. Wouldn't Hiromi want to stay at the palace where she's always been? Why would she want to leave this place willingly? Zuko pondered this, thinking it unfair that she had a choice and he didn't. But he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for holding it against Hiromi that she wanted to leave. He lost his mother and his cousin when she had lost so much more. He knew that Ursa was just as much a mother to Hiromi as she had been to himself. Losing Ursa was just like Hiromi losing her own mother, which she had already experienced early in life. Before he could contemplate his guiltiness any further, his mind sidetracked to thoughts of Hiromi's mother.

"Do you ever wonder what your mother was like?" Zuko asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

"Well yeah, all the time." She said, propping herself up once again.

"I bet she was nice."

"Yeah. Me too."

Hiromi stayed propped up for about two seconds before she let herself fall back onto the bed again.

"I knew I shouldn't have sat back up. That conversation lasted about half as long as it took me to even sit up." Hiromi thought, scolding herself for not trusting her better judgement. She continued to think of her mother as she laid down, looking up at the dark ceiling above her.

Sometime after that, the two teenagers drifted asleep without another words being said between them until the next morning.

"Where are all my blankets?" Zuko thought, the cold air waking him up.

He looked at the foot of his bed where Hiromi had fallen asleep the previous night. Surely enough, Hiromi had somehow managed to steal all of the blankets from where she slept. Zuko looked at the rays of sunlight that managed to find their way through the thick clouds outside. It was almost dawn, and Zuko knew he would be leaving before the sun had completely rose.

Just as Zuko was getting out of bed, he heard knocking on his door.

His eyes quickly looked back and forth between the door and Hiromi, who was still fast asleep on his bed. In order to avoid an awkward encounter, he decided to walk to the door and open it himself.

"What is it?" He said, cracking the door open and peeking his head out.

Iroh stood at the door, a small bag hung over his shoulder. Zuko had almost forgotten that his uncle was coming with them."We have to get going soon, before we leave I have to stop at Miss Hiromi's house and ask her something."

Did Iroh not know that she was coming with them? "Uh, Uncle, isn't she coming with us?"

His eyes widened, "Did she tell you that I asked her?"

"Er- yeah. She, uh, said she was coming with us and that she would be here early in the morning. I'll be out in a minute, wait for me in the courtyard."

Iroh nodded his head and Zuko quickly shut the door, looking to see if Hiromi was still asleep.

"Hiromi, wake up." Zuko said, reaching over to shake her.

"What in the-" Zuko's hands sunk down into the blankets as he touched them.

"Where did she go?" He looked around his room and noticed that her bag was gone as well.

He ran to the window as he put on his clothes, searching for any sign of the girl.

"I really shouldn't have ran, now my head hurts again." Zuko thought to himself.

He grabbed the bag he had packed and brought it with him as he walked to the courtyard to meet his uncle. There he found Hiromi, dressed in pants and a long sleeved shirt, talking to his Uncle.

"Since when does she wear pants?" he wondered as he walked towards the two people.

Once Zuko got to Hiromi and his uncle, they were approached by several guards.

"The Fire Lord has ordered us to escort you and your uncle to the ship."

"They're giving us a ship?" Zuko thought, amazed by his father's generosity.

Zuko nodded his head, following the armor-clad guards to the docks.

Hiromi stayed behind the men, unsure of whether she was supposed to go with them or not.

"Psst, Iroh."

"Yes?"

"Am I even allowed to come with you guys?"

"Well of course you are, why would you suspect otherwise?"

Hiromi shrugged her shoulders and quickened her pace so that she walked side-by-side with Iroh. Many of the guards gave her a sideways glance and rolled their eyes. Hiromi looked down to avoid their condescending glares and keep from feeling self-conscious about what was happening.

She couldn't explain why she was embarrassed, perhaps because people may think she was getting banished as well? In a way, she was. But it wasn't like anyone's opinion really mattered to her. She didn't know anyone in the kingdom aside from the people she was walking with and Kiyoko.

By the time they finally made it to the docks, the sun was more than halfway visible over the horizon. The sky, which was a rich orange color, reflected onto the ocean before them- acting as a mirror to the beautiful hues of the world above them.

Zuko tried to hide his disgust when he saw the old naval ship his father was allowing him to use.

"No wonder he was being so generous, this thing is an ancient artifact." Zuko thought, feeling foolish for thinking his father would have let him use something more valuable.

As Iroh boarded the ship, he looked behind him to take one last look at the palace. No one had come to watch them depart, but Iroh hadn't even expected a ship from his brother- much less a goodbye. Iroh wondered who the crew would be made up of, or if him and his nephew would be left to find their own crew.

"We'll start by searching each of the air temples, and we won't stop until we find him." Zuko said as he stepped onto the deck of the ship, examining the crew before him.

The malice in Zuko's voice sent a chill down Hiromi's spine, causing her to shift her feet slightly. She looked up at him and wondered where the old Zuko had gone, then looked at Iroh and was thankful that she had him with her to keep her comfortable.

She skillfully avoided Zuko as Iroh escorted her to a small cabin above deck. It was small, and had only a cot and a dresser inside it. Hiromi smiled at Iroh and gave him a hug, thanking him for his generosity.

As the ship departed, the sun made its way above the horizon and, in the back of her mind, Hiromi wondered when she would see the sun rise from the fire nation again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- here's an update for all u folks. hope you enjoy! let me know what you think (or not bc it's your choice and you have agency in this but pls enjoy it anyway).**

Hiromi stretched her arms as she woke up with the rising sun. She couldn't see it from her lantern-lit room, but the energy of the sun found its way into the room and snuck into her bones. For a brief moment, Hiromi felt her whole room grow warm with the heat the sun brought with it. After this moment passed, she exhaled and saw her breath in front of her, reminding her that she was in the south pole. She shivered and put on her jacket, pausing only to wipe the sleep out of her eyes.

She walked out onto the deck, greeting the few crew members who were out of their rooms as she watched the sun rise over the horizon. Hiromi missed the orange colors of the fire nation sunrise, but she had to admit that the beauty of the purple and green colors of the sky where she currently was were comparable to the sunrise of her home country. She looked over and saw Iroh performing his normal morning routine- playing a game while drinking Jasmine tea. Zuko was standing at the front of the ship, looking out at the horizon, which was surrounded by icebergs of all sizes.

"Good morning, Iroh." Hiromi bowed in his direction.

Iroh smiled and returned her greeting, quickly returning to his game.

Hiromi looked at Zuko, who was unaware of her presence. She began to tell him good morning, but decided against it. The two years they had spent at sea had changed everyone, but none so much as it had Zuko. While his drive to regain his honor hadn't dwindled, it eventually consumed him. All he cared about was finding the avatar, and Hiromi couldn't remember the last time she saw him smile. She remembered how eager he was when they had arrived at the Western air temple. She remembered how admirable the way the prince held himself and treated his peers was, even in exile. Even when he was faced with disappointment at the first of the temples, he didn't let it discourage him when searching the other three. While he didn't become discouraged- his eager attitude was soon used to fuel his determination. Zuko became a shell of himself, one that was only worried about finding the Avatar.

Hiromi walked over to Iroh and sat in front of him, pouring herself a cup of tea as she usually did in the mornings. Hiromi looked behind her at Zuko and wondered what he was thinking about. She remembered when they were younger and would talk about everything with one another. She was never as close to him as she was to Lu Ten, but he was definitely her next closest friend. Hiromi recalled a point in time where she didn't have to ask him what was on his mind because she already knew what was bothering him. The frigid wind that was settled between her and Zuko was more than physical. Zuko had pushed everyone away, even his uncle. The light inside of him that used to draw people closer to him was almost nonexistent, even though Hiromi and Iroh tried every day to bring that part of him back.

Hiromi poured a separate cup of tea and stood to bring it to Zuko, but just as she did this a large beam of light shot up into the sky. The entire ship stood quiet as everyone's attention was diverted to the overwhelmingly bright beacon that shone in the horizon. Zuko watched as the blue-white light shone for several seconds before he turned to speak to his uncle.

"Finally! Uncle, do you realize what this means?"

Iroh set down his cup of tea and looked up at his nephew. "I won't get to finish my game?"

Zuko stepped closer to Hiromi and Iroh, who was very focused on his game.

"It means my search is about to come to an end."

Zuko looked back at where the light came from and pointed in its direction.

"That light came from an incredibly powerful source." As he said this, the light dwindled for a few seconds before it eventually disappeared completely. "It has to be him."

Iroh continued to play his game, seeming to carry on the conversation with Zuko with great disinterest. "Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko."

Iroh took a moment to analyze the tiles in his hand before continuing, "I don't want you to get too excited over nothing."

Hiromi watched as he placed the a tile from his hand onto a tile depicting the fire nation symbol. She studied the game, trying to figure out the pattern Iroh was creating out of the tiles. As she studied his longest line of tiles, the idea came to her. "It's the avatar cycle!" Hiromi thought to herself, oblivious to the conversation Zuko and Iroh were holding around her.

After Hiromi came to her realization, she remembered that she had a cup of tea in her hand that she had made for Zuko.

"Please sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea?" she asked, gesturing to an empty space at the table.

Zuko's brow furrowed, "I don't need any calming tea!"

His sudden change of tone caused Hiromi to jump back, spilling a small amount of tea on her pants.

"I need to capture the Avatar! Helmsman, head a course for the light!" Zuko pointed in the direction of where the beacon had appeared and returned to his position at the front of the ship, his ponytail waving in the wind.

Hiromi looked back at Iroh, who had just placed another tile with the air nation symbol on top of the one he had previously placed down. "Okay, maybe it isn't the Avatar cycle." She thought disappointedly.

Just as he moved his hand back from the table, a gust of wind washed over the tiles, causing them to shake briefly.

"A little windy today." Hiromi chuckled uncomfortably, looking at Iroh for reassurance.

Iroh smiled slightly and sipped his tea before looking at his nephew, who was still standing at the front of the ship looking intently at the horizon.

Hiromi stood up and went to talk to the chef to see if he needed any help preparing breakfast.

Iroh got up once Hiromi left and went to stand by his nephew. They didn't exchange some much as a sideways glance for the first few minutes, but Zuko eventually broke the silence.

"Uncle, what are you thinking about?"

Iroh took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm thinking about you, Prince Zuko."

"What about me?"

Iroh ran his fingers over his beard several times as he spoke, "About how young you were when this all started."

Zuko thought about his uncle's words before responding. _How young I was? What did that have to do with anything? It's only been two years, and I feel like I'm still the same age._

"Wh-" Zuko began, but was cut off by Iroh, who seemed to have been reading his mind.

"I know you may not realize it, my nephew, but you've changed since this all began. You have changed, and you have changed other people."

Zuko looked around to see if Iroh was referring to anyone around them, but saw that the deck of the ship was empty.

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked, frustration in his voice.

Iroh frowned and looked away from Zuko and out at the horizon, "No one on this ship is the same, Zuko. You may not see it, but a lot of it has to do with you. You are the leader of the men on this ship," he paused, wondering if Zuko noticed that Iroh had just referred to Hiromi as a man. "Not including Hiromi, that is. But you're leading her as well. She came with us because she had no one else back in the fire nation. Do you realize that she probably feels as if us, the only people in this world she knows as family, are no longer the same people she stepped onto this ship with?"

Zuko stood, dumbfounded. What was his uncle even talking about? Zuko hadn't changed, it was Hiromi that had changed. She didn't talk to him like she used to, it seemed to him that she pretty much ignored him every day. Then again, he also didn't pay much attention to it because he was so focused on returning to the fire nation.

This brought Zuko back to reality, "If anyone on this ship has a problem with the way I run it, including Hiromi, they can talk to me about it." Zuko laughed quietly, "It's not like they'll be on it much longer. I'll have the Avatar soon enough."

Iroh saw this as the end of the conversation and left to finish his game and his tea, which was probably cold by now.

That afternoon, Iroh watched as Zuko and Hiromi sparred on deck. It had been months since he had seen the young girl bend, and had almost forgotten how skilled she was. He watched as she easily dodged all of his nephew's attacks and countered them expertly.

Many crew members were gathered around, watching as the teenagers fought one another.

Zuko was breathing heavily, trying to quickly regain his energy before he was faced with another one of Hiromi's well-timed attacks. Just as he had caught his breath, Hiromi kicked a stream of white fire in his direction. He rolled to the side and, as her leg was coming down from her attack, kicked Hiromi's feet out from under her. She felt to the ground with a loud thud and, when she looked up, she saw the young prince's fist ready to strike above her face.

Hiromi got up and smiled, embarrassed. "Excellent fight, Zuko."

They bowed to one another and Hiromi quickly made her way to her room so that she could regain her composure.

"I really need to spar more often." Hiromi said as she fell onto her cot. She thought of the way Zuko had been fighting her, it feeling odd to her for some reason.

She tried to recall specific details from their fight that had been a red flag to her, but none stood out so much as the look in his eyes.

She nodded her head as the vision came to mind. It had to be his eyes- the look in them anyway. Even the look he had in his eyes when Iroh suggested the two of them practice fighting had been enough to throw Hiromi off her game, not taking into account her lack of practice recently.

Hiromi sighed as she looked up at her ceiling, her heartbeat finally slowing down and her breathing becoming evenly spaced, the last thing that flashed through her mind before she fell asleep were the prince's cold, distant eyes.

"Again!" Iroh shouted at his nephew, who had been sparring with two soldiers that were on deck.

Zuko turned and opened his arms to his opponents, attempting to cover them with flames. Despite his efforts, the soldiers easily block his attack and one sends a blast of fire in his direction. Zuko ducks under this attack just as the other firebender jumps towards him and sends another fireblast towards his feet. The prince propels himself out of the way and twists around in mid-air and directs another fire blast with his hand to the firebender that retaliated first, and another with his foot to the firebender that aimed for his feet. Both soldiers jump out of the way of Zuko's flames. Zuko lands and stretches his fists out toward his adversaries, ready to face another attack.

Iroh stood up, sighing. "No!"

Zuko turned around, surprised by his uncle's display of frustration.

"Power in firebending comes from the breath," Iroh paused as he emphasized a breathing motion in front of him, "not the muscles."

Iroh mimicked a firebending form, acting as if he were sending a fire blast.

"The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!" he said as he sent a perfectly aimed blast of fire right towards Zuko. "Get it right this time."

Zuko became instantly frustrated, "Enough! I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set! I'm more than ready!"

"No, you are impatient." Iroh said as he sat down. "You have yet to master your basics. I'm surprised you survived fighting someone as skilled as Hiromi."

"Drill it again!" Iroh yelled.

Zuko ignored the uncomfortable amount of irritation in his uncle's voice and turned around, violently kicking a blast of fire at one of the soldiers and knocking him down.

"The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender." Zuko began angrily, again ignoring the displeased countenance of his uncle. "He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements! I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him."

Zuko paused, catching his breath. "You will teach me the advanced set!" he yelled.

"Very well." Iroh said hesitantly, his facial expression changing from angry to excited. "But first, I just finish my roast duck!"

Zuko rolled his eyes and walked to the edge of the ship, waiting to see some sign of the Avatar beyond the icebergs.

Hiromi woke up with a start, the sound of shouting from various crew members waking her up.

Hiromi ran onto the deck, looking around for Iroh and Zuko. "What's going on?" she mumbled to herself.

She looked up to see Zuko peering through a telescope. She followed the telescope's line of vision to a flare being shot up from an old fire navy ship that was surrounded by jagged pieces of ice. Hiromi walked closer to the edge of the ship to get a closer look, the cold wind biting at her face.

Zuko watched as a bald man carried a girl from the ship that had given away their location, jumping incredibly high.

"The last airbender! Quite agile for his old age."

Zuko turned around to speak to a man standing behind him. "Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar."

Zuko looked back through the telescope to confirm his sighting once more. He notices that the two people are now running and follows the direction they're going. He almost overlooked a small village, one he assumed must be where the two were headed.

"As well as his hiding place."

Hiromi ran to where Zuko stood, still looking through the telescope.

"Was it him?" She said, startling him.

Zuko quickly turned around, smiling. "It was, Hiromi."

Zuko reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close to him. While this initially threw her off, she soon returned the prince's hug and closed her eyes.

"Does that mean we'll be going home?" Hiromi asked, looking up at him.

He put his hands on her shoulders, "We'll go home soon."

With that, he turned back to the telescope and watched as the ship approached the small village the boy and girl had been running to.

Hiromi looked out and noted that the telescope was no longer essential to being able to see the village, as they were quickly approaching it. Hiromi looked back at Zuko and remembered how happy he was when he told her it was the Avatar. She smiled, wondering how long he had been hiding in this small village that was surrounded by ice.

"Probably just long enough to learn waterbending." She thought as she walked away.

She dwelled on this thought for a moment, then stopped when something dawned on her.

Hiromi ran below deck to find Iroh, who was sleeping in his room.

"Psst, Iroh." She whispered to the large, bearded man as she shook his shoulder.

He didn't budge.

"Iroh, wake up." she said in her normal voice, hoping to receive some sort of confirmation that he was waking up.

He still didn't budge.

Hiromi sighed angrily then put her hands on top of her head and began pacing.

"Iroh please wake up, I need to talk to you!" she said to herself, feeling her hands grow hot from frustration.

Using it as a last resort, Hiromi grabbed Iroh's shoulder with her hot hand, hoping to wake him with the sudden contact. Almost instantaneously, Iroh shot up out of bed, hands flailing about and grasping for the shoulder Hiromi had grabbed. Hiromi jumped back, making sure to stand clear of his catawampus demeanor. Shortly after his outburst, Hiromi sat on the end of his cot.

"Iroh, I have a question."

"The answer is yes."

Hiromi arched one eyebrow, "But I haven't asked you yet."

"If the question was asking if that hurt me, the answer is yes."

Hiromi looked down apologetically, "I'm sorry, you're just such a heavy sleeper and I really need to ask you something."

Iroh chuckled and stopped rubbing his stinging shoulder, "It's okay Hiromi, I'll be fine. What is it you need to talk to me about?"

"It's about Zuko."

Iroh turned his entire body to face Hiromi, suddenly more intrigued by the conversation. "What about him?"

"It's just, well, is this going to work?"

"Is what going to work?"

"Zuko capturing the Avatar."

"Well, we don't know for sure that the Avatar is even in the South Pole."

"Yes we do."

"What?"

"Zuko saw him airbending and running towards a nearby village, one that could have easily been overlooked."

"Oh, how far are we from this village?"

"We're almost there."

Iroh thought for a moment, "What's your question again?"

Hiromi considered her word choice for a moment before speaking, "Does he stand a chance against someone who has had so long to prepare for a fight like this?"

Iroh wanted to say yes, he wanted to give Hiromi the reassurance she needed to feel at ease for the time being. He wanted to tell her that Zuko would be able to capture the Avatar without a hitch. Granted, there weren't any waterbenders in the south pole for him to have learned from that he knew of- and Zuko has an entire crew at his defense.

But this was the avatar, not just any person. Zuko could hardly fight two amateur firebenders just earlier, and only barely beat Hiromi.

Iroh wanted to tell her a lie, and he wanted to believe it.

Instead, Iroh looked away from Hiromi. He looked at a dark corner of the room before he even opened his mouth to respond.

"Well, what do you think Uncle?"

Hiromi and Iroh both turned to face Zuko, who had been standing by the doorway for who knows how long.

Iroh stood and faced his nephew, walking in front of Hiromi. "I only wish you had more time to prepare for this day."

Zuko scoffed and furrowed his brows, "I've spent years preparing for this, Uncle. The least you could do is have some confidence in me."

Zuko paused, then looked past Iroh at Hiromi. "I can't believe that you of all people would doubt me, Hiromi."

Hiromi tried to string a sentence together, but struggled to begin without stumbling over her words.

"I don't want any excuses, or your apologies. I knew that there were people who thought I'd never be able to do it, even people in my family. But another thing I always knew is that I'd prove all of them wrong, and now my dreams are finally coming back to life."

With that, Zuko walked away, leaving Iroh and Hiromi to reflect over what he said. Zuko thought of Hiromi, and the way she looked up at him when he had hugged her earlier. He thought of the way her eyes sparkled and the way her smile shined brighter than the sun.

The happy images were soon replaced with the betrayed look she had on her face when Zuko had said his dreams were finally coming to life. Zuko thought of what he had said, and realized that his dreams would never be complete without Hiromi and his uncle by his side. Zuko stopped walking, "Should I go back?" He thought, contemplating his actions.

Zuko shook his head, going back would show him as weak. He had already lost his honor, and he had no plans for losing any more of his dignity. He began walking again, thinking of Hiromi as he stepped out onto the deck and into the cold air, his thoughts quickly turning to the Avatar. Zuko took a deep breath, feeling the last rays of sunlight soak into his skin. The sun would be setting soon, but by the time the sky transformed from a burnt orange color to a deep blue he would have the Avatar in his grasp, and no one was going to stop him.

As Zuko stepped onto the deck of the ship, he saw that the village was well within 300 yards of the vessel. Zuko put on the helmet he had been carrying in his hands and assembled several guards to walk off of the ship with him.

It wasn't until Zuko noticed a boy on top of a snow wall surrounding the village that he began having flashbacks of his father.

Memories of the merciless man that Zuko had called father his whole life raced through his mind. He remembered the way he had always treated Zuko as if he weren't even his blood, he remembered the preferential treatment his sister always received from him, and remembered the woman that had somehow fell in love with his father.

Zuko thought of his mother. He wondered what would have happened the day of his banishment if his mother had've been there. Surely she wouldn't have allowed this, would she? Zuko tried to shake the memories of his mother, beautiful in every way, from his mind. Though he missed her, he had no way of bringing her back. Especially if she was in the fire nation.

Zuko smirked, knowing that his ticket back into the fire nation was right in front of him, and he would do anything to make sure it didn't leave his grasp.

Hiromi stood up and began walking out of the room, only to be knocked down as the ship made contact with something large and mostly solid.

Once she regained her balance, she ran onto the deck of the ship, wrapping her arms tightly around her torso so that she could stay warm in the biting of the cold wind.

She desperately searched for Zuko, wanting to apologize and wish him luck before he left the ship, but saw that the bow of the ship was already laid down. Hiromi ran back into her quarters and slipped on a jacket before running out to the village.

Once she was on the walkway, she looked to her right and noticed a boy with his head stuck in the snow. She began to hop down and help him, but before she could begin working her way towards him, he jumped out and ran to grab a club which had been laying on the other side of the walkway. As he picked it up, he let out a battle cry and began running towards Zuko, who was yelling at several of the villagers. Just as Hiromi took note of the fact that the village was almost entirely women and children, with the exception of the young man who was attempting to strike Zuko, the fire nation prince turned to face the charging boy and ducked under his attack, sending the boy flying forward.

The warrior slid in the snow in front of him, losing his weapon. Zuko shot a blast of fire at the enemy, who defended himself by quickly sliding out of the way and tossing a boomerang towards the prince and missed Zuko's head by a fraction of an inch. A small child that was in the crowd tossed a weapon towards the older water tribe boy, shouting words of encouragement that Hiromi couldn't quite make out. The older boy caught the weapon and charged at Zuko another time. Zuko responded by snapping the weapon into several pieces. After he did so, Zuko took the end of the club and knocked the warrior in the head a few times before he broke the remains of the spear in half and tossed them to his side as the water tribe boy fell to the ground.

As the boy who Zuko had defended himself against sat in the snow, rubbing his head. A glint of light in the distance caught Hiromi's eye, and she recognized it as the boomerang the boy had thrown earlier- only this time it was heading straight for the back of Zuko's head.

Hiromi ran towards the end of the walkway, somersaulting in the air and kicking the projectile out of the way, which met her boot with a metallic cling before landing in the snow far from the villagers. Zuko turned around, albeit surprised, and silently thanked Hiromi by nodding his head in her direction. Asserting his dominance, Zuko readied two dagger-like flames in his hands in case he needed to defend himself from the water tribe boy's attacks again.

Sokka watched as the girl kicked his boomerang away from the armor-clad fire nation boy's head. As she landed, her hair fell out of whatever had been binding it up and fell into loose waves down her back. The cold wind blew thick tendrils of her light-colored hair around her shoulders, the sun reflecting off of her hair in the most mesmerizing way. He'd never seen any girl his age at the south pole, much less one with hair the color of the sun.

He probably would have stared at the fire nation girl for hours had Aang not distracted him by sliding into the battle scene on a penguin, knocking the leader of the fire nation troops into the snow.

Hiromi couldn't help but laugh to herself as Zuko's helmet flew off his head and landed on his tail end as he fell into the snow. She began to help him up, but he soon jumped out of the embarrassing position he had landed in and prepared himself in a fighting stance.

Hiromi recognized the person who had knocked Zuko down as the bald boy from earlier, who Zuko had assumed was the Avatar.

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka." the bald boy said to the warrior and a young girl who was amongst the villagers.

"Hi Aang. Thanks for coming." the boy said, moodily.

Hiromi sensed a bit of tension between the two, but didn't dwell on it as she became distracted by the realization that the water tribe boy from earlier had a pony tail, not much unlike Zuko's

The boy turned to look at Zuko, mimicking his fighting stance. "Looking for me?"

Zuko appeared shocked, "You're the airbender? _You're the Avatar?"_

Hiromi let out a sigh of relief, "This boy has hardly had time to learn how to tie his shoes, much less master all of the elements." she thought to herself.

The villagers he had addressed earlier appeared shocked, as if they hadn't already known this.

"I've spent years training for this encounter." Zuko began as they circled one another. "Training, meditating. And you're just a child!" he spat angrily.

The Avatar tilted his head, confused. "Well, you're just a teenager."

Zuko responded by blasting a series of fireballs at the boy, who avoided his attacks by twirling a staff he had been carrying in his hands to dissipate the flames.

The two boys repeated this attack and defense, only this time the flames were blown towards the villagers.

Hiromi watched as the Avatar looked back at the villagers, a look of horror crossing his face.

He stopped twirling his staff and held it in front of him, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

Hiromi admired the Avatar's sympathetic nature, which struck her as wise. The young boy reminded her of Iroh, and she immediately felt guilty for underestimating him earlier.

After a period of brief hesitation, Zuko nodded his head and accepted the Avatar's offer. The soldiers surrounding him quickly seized him and boarded him onto the ship.

"No Aang! Don't do this!" the girl yelled at the Avatar.

"So his name is Aang." Hiromi thought, taking note of this detail.

"Don't worry Katara, it'll be okay." the boy responded before he was shoved onto the walkway. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

Hiromi's eyes widened in horror, what if Appa was the boy's grandfather- the real Avatar? She looked around and saw no other older man or woman who resembled the boy and shook the thoughts from her mind.

"Head a course for the fire nation, we're going home." Zuko said as he followed behind the soldiers who were escorting Aang.

Hiromi looked back at the villagers before the bow of the ship was raised back up and the vessel departed from the small village where the Avatar had been hiding.

She watched from a distance as Zuko observed Aang's staff before handing Iroh, who hands it to a nearby guard.

Zuko walked to where Hiromi stood at the end of the ship, where she had been observing the passing icebergs.

"You did it." Hiromi said, smiling at the prince.

Her hair hadn't been bothered with since it fell from its loose ponytail earlier, and it still hung messily around her shoulders. Zuko noticed that her hair had gotten much longer since he had last seen it down, and had to resist the urge to run his fingers through it. He felt his heart soften as she smiled up at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

Zuko placed his hands on the side of the ship, where he supported his weight. "And to think, you thought I wouldn't be able to fight him." He said jokingly.

Hiromi rolled her eyes and continued to smile, "Well I did save you from a boomerang. If I hadn't have done that it could have been anyone's fight."

In her mind she wondered what the boy was capable of. He had obviously been restricting himself in the village in order to protect the people around him. His lack of offensive techniques left Hiromi in awe of his sense of self-control.

Zuko laughed and looked down at the girl next to him. Hadn't she always been this beautiful? Why did he feel as if he had been oblivious of this the past two years?

"You loo-" he began, but was interrupted by a guard yelling from farther down the ship.

"The Avatar has escaped!"

Hiromi watched as Zuko ran towards the firebender, wondering what it was he was going to say to her.

"What an odd thing to be wondering right now." she thought as she raced to help Zuko.

She explored the ship, jumping over various unconscious bodies as she looked for the prince and young air bender. She passed Iroh's room, where she noticed he was still sound asleep on his cot.

She heard a loud thud on the deck of the ship and ran back outside, relieved to find Zuko and the Avatar both on the lower deck. The boy's staff, which now appeared to have wings projecting out of its sides, was far out of reach of Aang. Hiromi began to run to Zuko's aid, but was interrupted by a growling noise in the distance.

"Appa!" Aang yelled, looking up into the sky.

Hiromi stared in awe as what appeared to be a flying buffalo soared towards the ship. Or maybe it was a bison, Hiromi wasn't entirely sure what the difference was. However, she was fairly certain that neither animal was normally capable of flying. She then felt foolish for thinking that Appa had been the name of the boy's grandfather.

Hiromi looked back at Zuko and Aang just as the firebender sent a stream of flames at the Avatar, who deflected them by grabbing his glider and using the same spinning technique as he had while in the village.

Aang propelled himself backwards and landed, unsteadily on the edge of the ship. After sending several fire blasts in his direction, Zuko caused Aang to accidentally lose control of his glider, which slid several feet away. Zuko sent an additional fire blast towards him and knocked Aang off the side of the ship, landing in the cold water surrounding them.

Hiromi ran to the side of the ship, watching as a whirlpool began developing where the boy had landed.

"What in the-"

Hiromi was at a loss for words when Aang rocketed out of the water riding a large spinning water vortex, his eyes and tattoos glowing a white-blue color.

Aang lowered himself onto the ship, summoning a large wave of water that he used to sweep the deck of the ship clear of any firebenders. She watched as all of the soldiers surrounding her were swept overboard, including Zuko. A second wave from the Avatar caught Hiromi off guard and she fell victim to the attack, hitting her head several times before falling off of the side of the ship.

The initial shock of the water was electrifying to her senses. The ice cold water quickly caused her to feel numbness in her fingertips and feet. The tingling sensation it caused soon spread throughout her entire body as she drifted off, unable to move.

As she sank deeper into the cold water, the world grew dark around her. She could no longer feel her body or the throbbing sensation in her head. The only thing she seemed to see was the blood around her, which she could just barely see and could only assume was from the blows her head had taken as she had fallen.

Then, everything was black.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- I honestly just love getting nice reviews. It's really the only thing that motivates me to keep writing, so here's a big huge enormous thanks to Nerdy J Fics for warming my heart- but not in a heartburn way.**

The first thought Hiromi had as a spirit was that she couldn't feel the temperature. She wasn't cold anymore, but she wasn't warm either.

She was lost in a void. She couldn't tell if it was light or dark. She knew that the nothingness around her was black, but it seemed bright, as if there were a light emitting from somewhere. It reminded Hiromi of when she would close her eyes and look up at the sun. A faint glow would exist within the darkness of her eyelids, but everything remained black.

Actually, now that Hiromi thought about it, the void surrounding her looked exactly like that- like she had her eyes closed and she was looking up at the sun.

Did she have her eyes closed? Hiromi couldn't tell, she still couldn't feel anything.

A woman's voice called out to Hiromi, "Wake up, Hiromi."

"Maybe I'm not dead." Hiromi thought. "Maybe I'm just paralyzed or something and I can't move my eyes or anything."

The woman spoke again, this time to someone else, "Why isn't she waking up?"

A mumble escaped Hiromi's lips. She wasn't quite sure what she was trying to say, but it got the point across that she at least wasn't dead.

"Did you hear that?" The woman said, excitedly. Hiromi imagined the woman's smile as she said this. The woman had a light, melodic voice that Hiromi couldn't help but admire.

For a brief moment, Hiromi's eyes were open. In this moment, Hiromi saw a couple things that caught her attention.

The first was that the people sitting next to her were a man and a woman. The man was definitely Hiromi's father, but she couldn't quite determine who the woman was. Hiromi assumed it was her mother, but she didn't ever really have a definite picture in her mind of what her mother looked like. Could it be Hiromi's mother? Where was she that she was able to see her father and her mother. The second was that the sun and moon were out at the same time, and, while this didn't strike her as particularly odd, for some reason it was something that caught her attention.

Then she fell asleep.

When Hiromi woke up, she was under water. She opened her eyes and screamed for help, but only bubbles escaped from her mouth.

Was the man and woman just a vision? Was Hiromi still in the ocean outside of the ship? Hiromi tried to make her body upright, but she found that the water she was in only came up to her knees.

Hiromi took in her surroundings- the dark forest, full of glowing eyes looking out at her. She looked at the body of water she was in, which appeared to be perfectly round. She stepped out of the water and onto the shore a few feet in front of her. The man and woman from earlier were nowhere to be seen, but she certainly wasn't in the south pole anymore.

She heard some rustling in the brush in front of her and brought her hands up to defend herself, preparing to whip fire in its direction.

"Who's there?" She said, her head beginning to throb.

A hooded figure stepped out from the forest, "You can't bend here." the figure said, gracefully walking towards her still.

What was this person talking about? Hiromi attempted to firebend towards the person, but no flames escaped her hands. She tried another time, but failed again.

"What did you do to me?" Hiromi said, backing up into the water.

"I didn't do anything to you."

"Like I believe that. Where am I?"

"The spirit world."

Hiromi tried to bend at the figure again, "Tell me the truth, where am I and what did you do to me?" Hiromi was up to her knees in water again and she was beginning to feel dizzy.

"You're dead." The figure removed its cloak and revealed itself to be the woman who had been sitting next to her father.

"Are you going to kill me?" Hiromi asked, backing up further.

The woman stopped, "No, you're already dead."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're pretty much dead, anyway."

"Where is the man you were with before I fell asleep again?"

"Follow me."

Hiromi followed the woman hesitantly, her clothes drying as they treaded through the dense forest. As they walked, Hiromi noticed that several strange creatures inhabited this forest. Many of the animals were iridescent or even altogether see through. Hiromi looked at the plants as she walked by, trying to recall the name of some, but found that none of the plants around her were ones that she recognized.

"Where are we?" Hiromi asked, looking at the trees that towered above her.

"I already told you, dear girl. You're in the spirit world now."

For the first time, Hiromi believed her. Hiromi quickened her pace so that she was walking flush with the woman. "What does that have to do with me not being able to firebend?"

"It is the body that gives us the ability to bend. Because our bodies are still in the physical world and our spirits are here, we can't bend."

Hiromi decided that what the woman had said made sense, but still had a million questions left to ask her. What does it mean for her to be "pretty much" dead? Where was Hiromi's father? Who was she? Was Lu Ten here?

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled and shook her head, "I didn't expect you to recognize me."

Hiromi gave the woman a puzzled look, "Well who are you?"

The woman sighed and looked at Hiromi, "I'm your mother."

"I knew it!" Hiromi exclaimed, jumping in the air.

Hiromi examined the woman and felt foolish for not being surer of her assumption; the woman was a perfect likeness to herself, only far more beautiful and with dark hair. Aside from her cloak, she was dressed in a simple dress that went down to her slim ankles. Her long, dark hair was braided and swept over her shoulder and Hiromi wondered what her own hair would look like in a braid.

Hiromi looked at her own hair, which was wet and tangled and dripping down her back. She frowned when she remembered what had brought her here, to the spirit world with her parents.

Hiromi then wondered why she wasn't more astounded by the fact that she was walking through the forest with her mother. Maybe it was because it was all just so surreal, or maybe it just hadn't sunk in completely.

She shuddered at the thought of that word, sunk. She remembered the cold feeling that had completely taken over her body in her final moments. She remembered the darkness that shrouded her as she was lost in the depths of the ocean and the nothing she felt only moments later.

The last thing Hiromi would ever feel was the wrath of the ocean. Did the Avatar mean to kill her? Hiromi remembered how he was in the village, protecting its inhabitants and sacrificing himself. Surely it was a mistake, it had to be. She thought of how he looked when he emerged from the water atop the tower of spinning water, and realized that he was in a different state of mind when he was glowing.

"We're here." Her mother said, gesturing towards a large, open field.

The sun bounced off the rolling hills of green grass in such a way that reminded Hiromi of when she was young and running around all over the palace. It's funny how much of her life she had spent there, and sort of ironic. She was meant to have been raised as an earth kingdom princess, yet she grew up under the same roof as the princes and princesses of the fire nation. Almost instinctively, Hiromi stepped out from under the shade of the trees around her and into the sun, longing to be bathed in its warm rays of light, but felt nothing as every inch of her visible skin and hair was enveloped by its glow. It was the most eerie sensation, not being affected by the temperature. She had no clue what she was supposed to be feeling or why she couldn't feel it. It wouldn't have been so bad if maybe she was stuck feeling eternally temperate, at least then she'd always be comfortable. But instead she was stuck feeling nothing, and she couldn't keep from shedding a tear as she saw the sun shining on her face but wasn't able to feel its familiar warmth as it covered her countenance.

The sight of her father sitting only a hundred feet away surrounded by what she could only assume was food shocked Hiromi initially, her finding out of character for her father to be out on a picnic.

"When did he become such a family man?" Hiromi thought as she walked towards them.

"A little too late." Her own voice answered in the back of her mind.

She scolded herself for thinking so harshly, but couldn't help but find humor in her own company.

Her father stood up and greeted her with open arms, embracing her as she ran towards him.

More tears began shedding from her eyes; she hadn't realized how much she had missed him until that moment. She looked up at him and laughed through her tears, happy to see her father again.

"My dear girl, I've missed you." He said, laughing and pushing his daughter's hair behind her ear.

"I've missed you too, dad." She replied, his hearty laugh filling her ears.

The family sat down, talking about everything they could think up- from her parent's love story to Hiromi's life since her father and Lu Ten had passed on.

"Wait, you mean you're still with the fire nation?" Her father asked, transitioning his posture from relaxed to erect as the subject changed.

"Well, of course. Who's to say the Earth Kingdom would have allowed me in? I was engaged to the crown prince of the Fire Nation for crying out loud! I had no choice but to stay with Iroh and Prince Zuko."

Akemi placed a hand on Hiromi's shoulder, "Hiromi, dear, your time with us today has been a blessing. While under unfortunate circumstances, there's a reason your father left that passport with you. We'd hoped you'd return to my home in the Earth Kingdom palace and help defeat the corrupt leaders of the Fire Nation. "

"What do you mean?" Hiromi asked, confused.

"Hiromi, your mother and I always wanted a better life for you, outside of the Fire Nation. There was no way for both of us to escape, but we had always planned on finding a way for you to do so. I didn't want to leave you the way I did, but I had hoped that my letter would encourage you to start a new life, a better one."

Hiromi didn't understand anything her parents were telling her. Where did her father's sudden hate for the fire nation come from? Yes, she remembered the letter he had written her, but he hadn't said anything about insisting that she leave and turn against the Fire Nation.

"Why do the two of you hate the Fire Nation all of a sudden?" Hiromi said as she stood up.

"Hiromi, there are things that happened before your time that we don't have time to explain to you. There were complications in the life we lived that prevented us from ever leaving. There-" Her father began.

"What do you mean, you don't have time?" Hiromi interrupted, " I'm dead! We're all dead! We have all the time in the world! How could you possibly not have time to explain something to me?"

"Hiromi, you're not all the way dead." Akemi said calmly.

"But what does that mean?" Hiromi sobbed, falling to her knees.

"You aren't going to be here with us for much longer. This spiritual state that you're in is only temporary; there is someone with your physical body right now that is trying to make you return from the spirit world." Akemi replied, rubbing Hiromi's back softly.

"How do you know this?" she asked as she looked up at her mother.

"She came to us, she's a shaman and a close friend of mine. She told us months ago that she had a vision of a young girl that looked like me dying in the south sea. I asked her to be prepared to rescue you, and obviously she was."

"What will happen when I go back?" Hiromi asked, her head spinning.

"That is something that you must decide, Hiromi."

Hiromi couldn't respond, she didn't have the brain capacity to string a sentence together. Hiromi didn't know who she was anymore. In less than an hour her parents had stripped her of her entire identity. Was she even Fire Nation? What had her country done that was so awful?

Hiromi remembered how the water tribe villagers feared Zuko and his soldiers, and wondered what it was that they had done that was so terrible that they feared the fire nation. Had Hiromi been so sheltered inside of the palace walls that she was blind to what their military had been doing?

Hiromi nodded her head as she thought to herself, "Once I get back into the real world, how will I know what to do?" She asked her parents, looking to them for guidance.

"She will help you. Trust the Shaman, she has much wisdom to impart. You'd be surprised how much the two of you will have in common."

What was her mother talking about?

"What could the two of us possibly have in common?" Hiromi asked.

"That, we can't tell you. But we do need to tell you of something that the two of you will not share."

Hiromi half expected her father to say something very Iroh-like about her inner fire or something like that, but was surprised when her mother spoke instead.

"Come with me."

Hiromi followed her mother deep into the woods until they finally reached a barren landscape surrounded by rocks.

Hiromi looked at her mother, who appeared to be focused on some sort of inner turmoil.

"Why doesn't anyone like the Fire Nation?" Hiromi asked.

Her mother didn't pause to look at her, but kept walking as she spoke. "There are many things your country has done to cause distress to the other nations. You've spoken of Zuko searching the world for the Avatar so that he can restore his honor and return to the Fire Nation, but that's not where you need to be. The honor of the Fire Nation itself is tainted, having mercilessly destroyed the lives of thousands upon thousands of innocent people all across the world- not to mention eradicating an entire race of people from the face of the Earth."

Hiromi reflected upon this, the Fire Nation army killed innocent people, families? Hiromi thought of how happy she was while she was sitting with her parents only moments ago in the field - and the Fire Nation just took that away from people? And for what reason other than that because they had the ability to? Hiromi shuddered, imagining the hatred people had for her simply because of where she was born.

"We're here." Her mother said, interrupting Hiromi's thoughts.

"Where is here?"

"Nowhere special, I was just walking until I thought of a way to tell you this."

"Oh."

"There may be an advantage you will have above other benders when you return to the real world."

"What is it?"

"Technically, it's possible you've always possessed this ability. You've just never known how to use it."

Hiromi was too intrigued to respond.

"There is a special type of bending that is a combination of fire and earth bending called lava bending. Since the beginning of time, it has been believed that only the Avatar was powerful enough to possess this special skill- but there have been reports of earth benders having been able to manipulate lava since the Avatar's disappearance."

What was her mother talking about? Was Hiromi a lava bender? Was her mother?

"Were you a lava bender?"

Akemi laughed, "No, I wasn't. But your father and I believe that the lava benders have come from the children of fire and earth benders. While the skill has only been seen in the earth bending children of the two, we think that your prowess in fire bending could allow you to have this ability."

"How do I learn to use it?'

"You must find a lava bender to teach you."

Hiromi's excitement immediately dulled at her mother's answer to her question. How was she supposed to find an earth bender to teach her when everyone hated the fire nation? She sighed, "That's never going to happen. You said everyone hates the Fire Nation."

Her mother smiled, "Destiny has a funny way of working out."

Her mother gave her a hug and the two of them lay on the ground, looking up at the sky.

The last thing Hiromi noticed before she fell asleep was that the sun and the moon were both in the sky at the same time.

Zuko shot up from his bed, waking up in a cold sweat. He shook the memory of his nightmare from his head, trying to forget what it was that had waked him up.

He looked over at the sun dial in front of the small window in his room; it was almost sunrise.

Zuko lay back down in his bed, looking up at the ceiling and remembering what had happened only days before.

"Uncle! Where is Hiromi?" All of the crew members were on the ship, and he had searched everywhere looking for her after the Avatar had escaped.

"I haven't seen her since before the attack." He said, worry growing in his face.

Zuko did another run through of the ship, arousing the attention of the entire crew as he shouted her name repeatedly.

"Where is she?" he heard them murmur as they joined him in the search for her.

Zuko looked overboard the ship, "Did she fall off when we were hit with a wave?" Zuko shouted to no one in particular. He noticed several streaks of blood leading to where many of the crewmembers had fallen off, yet he didn't recall seeing any of the soldiers on board being wounded to that extent.

He took off his shirt and shoes and dove into the water against the will of his uncle, who was shouting for him to stop.

Zuko couldn't see anything in the darkness of the water, but he still swam deeper and deeper, listening and looking for any sign of Hiromi. He felt his lungs grow tight as he ran out of oxygen, but he continued to swim further. His ears popped once the water pressure was too much for his body, but he persevered and maintained his pace.

Eventually, the combination of cold and pressure was too much for him to bear, and he resurfaced. He was immediately hoisted up by a rope and was scolded by his uncle as he was brought to his room and was tended to so he wouldn't die of hypothermia.

Zuko passed out soon after, but was haunted by the idea of Hiromi being gone forever.

Zuko winced, refusing to believe that what had happened was true. He walked out onto the deck of the ship and searched for the docks his vessel would soon be approaching.

The first few rays of sunlight shone from the horizon, and Zuko couldn't help but wish Hiromi were there to watch it with him.

"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail." Zuko said as he and his uncle reached the bottom of the walkway.

"You mean the Avatar?"

Zuko sharply turned to face Iroh, "Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's still alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"

A man with sideburns approached them, "Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?"

"Captain Zhao." Zuko said with distaste.

The uniformed man smirked as he corrected Zuko, "It's Commander now." He bowed in Iroh's direction, "General Iroh, great hero of our nation."

"Retired General" Iroh said as he bowed back to Commander Zhao.

"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests any time." The man looked around. "Where is Miss Hiromi?"

"She's not with us anymore." Zuko replied, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

"It doesn't surprise me. She probably got tired of living as if she were the one who was banished." The Commander smirked.

Zuko bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to lash out at the older man.

"What my nephew means is that Hiromi is not with any of us anymore. She has joined her father." Iroh said, glaring at Commander Zhao.

"My condolences." He said awkwardly before continuing, "What brings you to my harbor?"

"Our ship is being repaired." Iroh said, gesturing towards the ship.

"That's quite a bit of damage." Zhao said, inspecting the severely damaged vessel.

Zuko held up his pointer finger, "Yes. You wouldn't believe what happened." He looked at Iroh as the Commander stared at him disinterestedly. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."

Iroh's eyes grew wide as he was addressed by Zuko, "Yes. I will do that." He happily held his hand up as he related enthusiastically, "It was incredible!" Iroh spoke to Zuko from the corner of his mouth, "What? Did we crash or something?"

Zuko looked at his uncle uncomfortably, "Yes! Right into… an Earth Kingdom ship!"

Zhao eyed the two in disbelief, "Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details." He smirked as he stepped closer to Zuko, "Join me for a drink?"

"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko said as he began to walk away.

Iroh placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder to hold him back, "Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." Iroh turned to face Zhao as he removed his hand from Zuko's shoulder. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

Hiromi opened her eyes and realized that she was freezing cold. She shivered as she sat up straight, studying her surroundings.

She appeared to be inside a large, hollowed out tree. In the center of the room was a fire that was keeping her semi-warm. She cupped her hands to her face and tried to use her breath of fire to help her warm her body, but she failed.

"You can't bend here." An old voice said, causing Hiromi to look over her shoulder.

"But I'm not in the spirit world anymore, why can't I bend?"

The woman stepped out of the shadows and into the flickering light of the fire in front of her. She couldn't make out very many details, but Hiromi noted that the woman wasn't very tall and that she had long and very curly light-colored hair. With the flickering of the flames in between them it was hard to tell if she was just old or if she too had the same colored hair as Hiromi.

"Sometimes, when a fire bender goes into the spirit world and returns, they lose their inner fire. This doesn't happen every time, it's an extremely rare occasion. But when it does their fire is replaced with its essence- its light is all that's left."

"So I can't bend anymore?" Hiromi said, feeling her heart drop.

"Not fire, anyway." The woman said as she smiled and produced a beam of light from her hand that reflected off of the walls of the tree. She beam of light shone so brightly that the entire tree lit up as if it were day time. In the brief moment of daylight the woman had brought to the tree, Hiromi had time to observe a few things about the woman that the fire hadn't allowed her to. For starters, her face was extremely wrinkly. She had to have been the oldest person Hiromi had seen in her entire life. However, after thinking about it, Hiromi decided that the woman was probably very beautiful when she was younger, and she still was beautiful, she was just also very old- not to say the two can't go hand in hand, but the aging of the woman's face seemed almost fake because of how exaggerated all of her wrinkles were. Each line in her face was a river carved out from the soft hills of her skin, the rivers ever moving and overlapping and changing. There were so many spots on her face from years of sun exposure that Hiromi had no doubt that the woman's face was entirely dusted with light colored freckles and her skin had to adjust by producing darker colored freckles over the preexisting ones. Aside from the woman's age, the only other thing Hiromi had noticed was the actual color of the woman's hair. While she did have gray and white hairs dominating most of the wild curls she adorned, it was blatantly obvious that the woman had, at one time shared the same color hair as Hiromi. As her light illuminated the area surrounding them, the parts of her hair that were still golden radiated more beautifully than Hiromi had ever seen anything sparkle.

Hiromi stared at the beautiful light in awe, and then looked at the woman. "Can I do that?"

The woman nodded her head.

Hiromi looked at her hands and produced a small glimmer of light. She smiled and then looked back up at the shaman. "Will I ever be able to fire bend again? What about what my mother told me, about me being a lava bender?"

The woman grimaced and looked at the fire, "I'm afraid it's impossible. I've been trying to figure out how to return my bending since I was your age."

Hiromi felt her heart drop again.

"You'll never firebend again."


	6. Chapter 6

"Ever?" Hiromi had asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Probably not." The shaman had answered as she walked out of the room.

Hiromi attempted to get up, but found that most of her lower body was still numb from the cold. The woman returned shortly after with a change of clothes for Hiromi.

"I'm going to take you to a hot spring. It will help warm your bones back up."

The woman assisted Hiromi as she led her to a secluded spring surrounded by tall trees and large rocks. Hiromi looked at the woman expectantly as she waited for the shaman to leave so she could undress, but received little more than a dismissive glare in response.

"You don't have anything that I haven't seen already. I did rescue you from drowning in the middle of the ocean, after all."

Hiromi looked down at her clothes and noticed that she wasn't wearing the same thing she was when she had been knocked off of the ship. She blushed and began undressing, but did so with her back turned to the woman.

Hiromi felt the shaman roll her eyes at her as she walked away, "I'm going to get some herbs for your bath."

Hiromi thanked her and eased herself into the water, its warmth sending a tingling sensation up throughout her body.

Hiromi closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall of the spring as she waited for the woman to return.

"Eat this." The woman said, startling Hiromi.

Hiromi nodded her head and took the bowl from the woman, eyeing its contents suspiciously.

The food wasn't bad, it was quite good actually, it just wasn't something Hiromi had ever eaten before.

"What's your name?" Hiromi asked the woman, realizing she didn't know what to call her.

The woman smiled and looked at Hiromi, her eyes crinkling as she laughed softly at the younger girl's question.

"I was wondering when you'd ask." Her old voice replied. "My name is Drisana."

Hiromi nodded her head and smiled back at the woman, "This soup is wonderful, Drisana. What is in it?"

"It's a special medicine I've made. It's going to help you become more connected to the essence of light that is still within your spirit."

"Is that going to help me firebend again?"

"It's not what its intention is, no. But it's not impossible I guess. Have you not wondered why you're still cold?"

Hiromi reflected upon Drisana's words, she had known she was cold- it just wasn't something she took note of.

"Uh, not really I suppose."

The woman raised an eyebrow and reached in her bag for something. As she spoke, she poured several jars of herbs and liquid concoctions into the water. "You're cold because you are no longer one with your inner fire. It won't kill you, but it took me years to figure out why I was so cold all of the time after I returned from the spirit world. Once you connect with the light inside of you, it will act as the fire did- to some extent." She paused to examine a jar before putting it back inside of her bag. "I'm not real sure why I brought that." Drisana mumbled to herself before continuing, "The light will keep you warm, which is basically what the fire inside of you did. This fire, however, just so happened to also allow you to firebend. Now that the light is all that's left, that's all you are able to bend. "

Hiromi figured that what Drisana was saying made sense.

"So, did my fire go out when my spirit left it?"

"Yes, and because you were dead." She responded, barely looking up from her work.

"Then why wasn't I able to light bend in the spirit world?"

"You carried the light with you then, but your body wasn't there to harness its power. Without your body, your light was useless." Drisana said as she put the jars back into her bag.

Hiromi sank her shoulders under the water, letting it bring warmth to her body. She wondered if being resurrected had an effect on all types of benders.

"What would've happened if a water or earth bender had lost their inner, uh, river or rock, I guess?" Hiromi asked confusedly.

The woman smiled, "I admire your curiosity, but I can't answer that question. I have never met someone from another nation that's experienced what you and I have."

"Has this happened to other fire benders?"

"Oh yes, but not many."

Hiromi wondered if Drisana has always lived in the tree she was in earlier. She wondered how old Drisana was and if she hated the fire nation like her parents did. Though she had many questions, the one that she asked was one that had been prodding at her mind since she met Drisana.

"How did you get resurrected?"

The woman's smile faltered and Hiormi immediately felt guilty for asking a personal question like that. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"I know I don't have to." The woman snapped, and Hiromi's face turned bright red from embarrassment. "But I'm going to." Drisana's voice softened as she sat at the edge of the spring, her white hair sparkling in the sunlight.

"I was young, probably a few years younger than you are right now." Drisana looked into the water as she spoke, remembering what had happened so vividly it seemed it had occurred only yesterday.

Drisana heard the water beneath her feet splash against the rock it was on as she ran towards the small village she hoped to find sanctuary in. Several men dressed in green and gold uniforms surrounded the main roads, but she was able to avoid them by cutting through the back yard of a large house and hiding inside of a shed that was surrounded by tall grass and rusted gardening tools.

Drisana found a small space under a shelf that she would rest in for a couple of hours so that she could continue to run. She used a small tarp and made a makeshift sleeping bag out of it to stay warm.

Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

"Hey, who are you?" A young boy said as he shook Drisana awake.

Her eyes grew wide, "Did you tell anyone I was here?"

The boy shook his head, "I only just woke up and found you here. Why are you sleeping in my grandparent's garden shed?"

Drisana looked around as she thought of what had brought her to this exact moment in her life.

"The fire nation destroyed my home." Drisana wasn't lying, but she still felt guilty for not telling the whole truth.

Many of the members of Drisana's large village, which had been home to people of every nation, were against the Fire Lord's decision to go to war with the other nations. After Sozin's comet and the Great Battle between the Fire Nation and Air Nomads, almost the entire town where Drisana lived was questioning whether this war was the right thing to do or not.

Drisana didn't know much about what had been happening, but her parents told her that the Fire Lord wasn't happy with the town's choice to fight against the Fire Nation rather than help with the war efforts. Drisana remembered her mother calling it a "pointless war." She said that it wasn't right for Fire Lord Sozin to hurt so many people, and Drisana agreed. Even though Drisana felt like her parents were making the right decision, the Fire Lord disagreed. He called the town's acts treasonous and sent his troops to destroy it.

Drisana's parents helped her escape, but they both stayed to help fight off the troops for as long as they could. She remembered her mother's and father's last words to her before she left.

"Let this help you to learn that you don't always have to do something just because someone tells you to. You must do what you feel in your heart is right." Her mother said, squeezing her hand.

"You must listen with your heart, and keep your mind open to the possibilities." Her father said as he kissed her forehead.

She said goodbye to both of them and ran until she ended up where she was now- sitting in a garden shed that evidently belonged to this young boy's grandparents.

"I'm sorry about that." He said, looking at the door. "I'm only here because my parents are trying to convince my grandparents to move back with us to Omashu."

Drisana remembered the stories she used to hear from her neighbor, who was a traveler, about the great city of Omashu. Her eyes gleamed as she remembered the story of its founding, about the two people who were in love but were forbidden to be together. The romance of it all interested Drisana beyond measure, and she couldn't help but wonder what the city was really like.

"What's it like living in Omashu?" Drisana asked, sitting up and crossing her legs as she talked to the boy.

"It's wonderful! We have this mail system that goes all throughout the city that is run completely by Earth benders. It's basically a system of chutes and stations placed strategically throughout the city so that mail delivery is super efficient."

"This is incredibly boring." Drisana thought, wondering why he was so excited about the mail.

"What's so wonderful about an efficient mail system?" Drisana asked, scrunching her face.

The boy smiled deviously, "Because, I use it for something else."

Drisana smirked and eyed the boy. He looked like he was about her age, with brown, unruly hair and tan skin.

"How much use can it possibly be other than for mail?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's useful for many things, when you open your mind to the possibilities." He said, cackling and snorting at his own words.

Drisana felt a painful reminder of her parents as he answered her question, tears coming to her eyes as he laughed quite loudly. She began to stand up, but was stopped by him placing his hand on her knee.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as Drisana sat back down.

Drisana shook her head and placed her hands over her face, hiding her tears from the boy.

While she was sobbing into her palms, the boy moved next to her and put his hand on her back to soothe her.

"Are you crying because you're confused about Omashu's multi-purpose mail system?" he joked, attempting to comfort Drisana.

She smiled at his feeble attempt at humor and looked over at him. His kind eyes stared back at her, pleading for Drisana to stop crying.

"What do you do for fun at your grandparent's house?" Drisana said as she shrugged the boy's hand off of her back.

He smiled mischievously as he stood up and began to walk out of the door, "Follow me."

Drisana shook the tarp off of the ends of her feet and hesitantly followed the boy. As they exited the shed, the boy looked around to see if anyone was watching and then made a run for the surrounding woods. Drisana mimicked his actions, her hair beginning to fall out of the bun that hung loosely on the top of her head.

The boy slowed down as they approached a small clearing in the forest. It was a secluded area with lush grass and a large, flat rock in the center of the clearing.

"You play on a rock for fun?" Drisana asked, stifling a laugh.

"More or less." The boy said as he jumped on top of the rock, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Welcome to fort Bumi." he said, stomping his foot on the rock.

Drisana watched in awe as she felt the Earth below them shift to allow an opening below the rock come into view.

"That was amazing! I didn't know you were an earthbender!" she said as she ran forward to examine the small tunnel that materialized upon Bumi's request.

He smiled down at the girl before jumping off of the rock to join her on the ground, "Would you like to see the inside?"

Drisana nodded her head eagerly and slid down the dark tunnel for several seconds before landing in an equally dark room.

"I can't see anything." Drisana said as she walked straight into Bumi, bumping him into a wall.

"I thought I had a torch already lit down here." He said. Drisana heard the boy scratch his head as he thought.

Without thinking, Drisana produced a flame from her hand to light the room. Bumi briefly turned his head and nodded appreciatively before doing a double take.

"You're a fire bender!" Bumi exclaimed.

Drisana backed up into the wall behind her, "Are you going to tell anyone?"

He arched an eyebrow at the young girl, "Why would I do that? We're friends."

The children smiled at each other in understanding.

"I'm Drisana." She said as she held out her hand to the boy.

"Bumi." he said, grabbing her hand firmly and shaking it.

Drisana took the unlit torch from Bumi's hand and used her fire to light it so that the two could see where they were going.

Bumi stomped his foot to move the rock above them back over the opening they came through.

"We can't have anyone following us." He cackled as he led the way through the small cavern.

After a few minutes of walking, they approached another room.

"Do you just walk around this tunnel for fun?" Drisana asked.

"Why are you so curious about what I do for fun?" Bumi countered.

Drisana shrugged her shoulders in response, unsure of how to answer his question.

"But, if you have to know. No, walking around tunnels and playing with rocks are not the only things I do for fun. We're almost there."

The two walked in silence for several minutes before Bumi stopped suddenly. "We're here."

Drisana looked around his shoulder, but saw nothing. "Where's here?"

Bumi put his hands on his hips and continued to look at the wall in front of them.

"Do you know the story about my city? About how Omashu came to be?"

Drisana nodded her head eagerly before he continued, "Then I'm assuming you know about the cave of two lovers?"

She blushed as she nodded slowly.

"Did you know that the maze still exists today?"

"This isn't the maze, is it?" She asked, eyes wide.

Bumi laughed, "Not at all, but it's close. Take my hand."  
Drisana grabbed his hand, "Wait, did you mean close as in distance?"

"Just wait."

Had Bumi walked Drisana all the way to Omashu? Is that why they'd been walking for so long?

Drisana smiled and stepped forward, still holding Bumi's hand.

Bumi kicked the wall in front of them down and stepped out into the void before them. Drisana followed, but then lost her breath as the floor beneath them slid down a steep hill.

Drisana screamed and held onto the boy next to her as they fell. Bumi snorted and laughed as the cold air around them bit at their skin as the speed at which they were following steadily grew faster.

The torch they had carried had long since went out, but Drisana felt that he was still holding it in his other hand.

"What are we doing?" Drisana screamed with her eyes squeezed shut.

"Having fun!" Bumi laughed as they continued to fall and turn in all directions.

Just as Drisana began to feel as if they were never going to stop falling, she felt the path they were on begin to level out and their speed decreased exponentially. Once they reached the end of the trail, both of them were lying flat on their backs, Drisana's eyes still closed. She thought about what had just happened, and realized they probably hadn't been falling as long as she thought they had been. This however, didn't stop her from remaining terrified and keeping her eyes shut.

"Drisana."

"Yes."

"Are you seeing this?"

"No, my eyes are closed."

"Well open your eyes."

"Do I want to?"

"Probably."

Drisana carefully opened one eye and peeked first at Bumi, then at the ceiling above them as she opened the other eye.

Drisana was breath taken at the sight before her. Thousands of small, blue-green crystals illuminated the world around them. She stood up and placed her hand on one of the crystals that casted its turquoise glow in front of her.

"It's cool, huh?" Bumi asked as he nudged Drisana with his elbow while he walked past her.

"How did you find this place?" She asked, the crystals showering them with their color-tinted light.

"By accident." he said before he stopped and turned to face her. "I actually found it a long time ago. I used to spend the summers here with my grandparents, and over the years I've expanded my tunnel to reach all corners of the forest. I believe we're close to Ba Sing Se."

Hiromi remembered when her parents would tell her stories of how they used to travel in and out of the nearby city Ba Sing Se as they pleased when they were young. It was actually how they had met, at a merchant's stall in the middle ring of the city. Drisana had heard the story a thousand times, and she never got tired of it. She sighed, knowing she would probably never hear her parents tell the story again.

"How far underground are we?"

"Very."

Drisana shivered, already knowing the answer to her question. She hadn't felt the sun's energy since they fell down Bumi's slide. She tried to firebend, but failed hopelessly.

"I can't bend this far underground." Drisana frowned.

"Do you want to go back up?" Bumi asked disappointedly.

She smiled and shook her head, "Not one bit."

The two continued to talk and play around in the cave around them. Bumi would occasionally drill Drisana with questions about her past, but she didn't mind answering them. She told Bumi all about how the fire nation had attacked the city she lived in- burning it to the ground.

After a few hours, Bumi and Drisana decided it was time to go home. "How do we get back up?" Drisana asked, remembering the horrifying way they had found their way down.

"It's a lot faster than getting down here." He said, walking back towards the slide they had entered on.

Once they approached its end, Bumi motioned for Drisana to stand right next to him.

"Do you have good balance?" He asked as he moved himself into a squatting position.

"I suppose." she lied.

"Good." He said, winding his arms windmill style behind him and propelling them forward. The sudden movement caused Drisana to stumble a bit, which earned her a condescending glance from Bumi. He continued to move, though, and even moved a bit faster to test Drisana's balance. She expertly kept her place and smiled at Bumi, who laughed maniacally in response.

Rather than sliding back up the way they had gone down, Bumi pulled the section of rock they were on out of the ground and pushed it straight up to where he had kicked down the wall earlier. They both stepped into the room and Bumi pushed the rock section back and pulled a wall up.

Drisana felt the warmth of the sun begin to seep back into her bones and she produced a flame from her hand to bring light to the darkness around them.

"Do you have the torch?" Drisana asked Bumi.

His eyes grew wide, "I think I forgot it down there."

Drisana rolled her eyes, "We aren't going back to get it. We can just go by my light."

Bumi nodded his head and walked close to the fire bending girl until they reached where they had first slid into the large cavern.

"We have to crawl back up here." Bumi said, stomping the rock out of the way again.

Drisana sighed exhaustedly and complied with his orders, quickly making her way up the narrow tunnel she had slid down previously.

It was a short climb, and once the both of them reached the top Bumi closed it back up and looked at Drisana.

"Are you going to leave now?"

Drisana shrugged her shoulders, "I don't have anywhere to go."

Bumi thought for a second, "Well you can't sleep in the garden shed again."

"I don't know what else I could do."

"I think I have an idea."

Drisana watched as Bumi earthbended a small structure from the ground, "You can stay here. I'll help you get some stuff to sleep on and we can play with each other every day!"

The idea of being on her own initially scared Drisana, but she was then excited about getting to see Bumi and play with him whenever she wanted. Her smile faded, however, when she came to one realization.

"What about when you return to Omashu?"

It seemed Bumi hadn't thought about this yet either, as his smile also disappeared from his face.

"I'll figure something out. I'm going to try to get my parents to let you come with us!" He shouted, confident his plan would work.

Drisana smiled and hugged the earthbending boy in front of her, happy she made a friend to confide in and trust even after she had lost everything.

Over the next few days, Bumi and Drisana continued exploring the cave and coming up with new games to play with one another. At the end of every day, Drisana and Bumi would say their goodbyes and she would go to her small fortress and eat the food Bumi had brought for her.

One morning, Bumi didn't show up as early as he usually did. Scared to leave the forest, Drisana stayed inside her home and hoped he had just mistakenly overslept.

A little bit after noon, Bumi came running to her door, out of breath.

"Drisana, are you still there?"

She shot up from the corner she had been meditating in, practicing her breathing techniques.

"What took you so long to get here?"

"I was talking to my parents, they said we're leaving for Omashu in two days."

Drisana's eyes grew wide, "Are they going to let me go with you?" she asked, her voice full of hope.

"I haven't asked them yet, I'm still thinking of a way to ask them."

"Why don't you just ask them straightforward?"  
"I have to think of a way to ask them so that they have to say yes. Being straightforward isn't ever the best option with my parents. I have to approach situations like these differently than they would expect."

"But they're not expecting you to ask anything, they don't even know I exist."

"Just give me until tomorrow. I'll think of something by then." He said as he pulled a sack of food from his bag.

"Here, my grandmother always makes these amazing sweet cakes. I know you'll love them."

Drisana grabbed one from the sack and split it in two pieces, handing one half to Bumi. She placed the bag on the mat where she slept and bit into the sweet cake, its taste overwhelming her senses.

"What's in this?" She asked, her mouth full of food.

He shrugged his shoulders, "No clue, but it tastes awesome. She's like, super good at making medicines and stuff. There's probably a potion in it that makes you like the way it tastes."

Instead of playing in the cave, the two simply walked around the forest the rest of the day, spending their time climbing trees and telling stories and racing.

At the end of the day, the two said goodbye and Drisana went into her small house, nervous about how Bumi's parents were going to react when he finally decided to ask them.

The more she thought about it, the more high-strung she became. She decided to practice her breathing again, like she did earlier.

She started by grabbing one of the candles Bumi had brought her and used her firebending to light it. Drisana watched as the small flame grew and shrank along with her breathing. Eventually, she closed her eyes and continued to breathe, focusing on making the flame perform to her commands.

She was so focused on her meditation that she didn't hear the footsteps outside of her door as dawn approached.

"Do you see that?" A man dressed in earth kingdom fatigues asked the leader of his cohort.

"She's a fire bender." He replied, moving into a squatting position. "I'm taking the building down."

"But she's just a girl!" He whispered at the earth bender.

"You saw what the Fire Nation did to that village last week. Do you want your family's home to be next?"

The man shook his head.

"That's what I thought." The man dramatically moved his hands above his head, inhaling deeply as he felt the earth around him. "It's what we have to do." He forcefully brought his hands downward, using the earth Drisana was secluded in to crush her as she meditated- unknowing of what had happened.

Her death was quick and painless, but her spirit still waivered in the physical world. Drisana was barely hanging on to the physical world.

When the sun rose, Bumi found Drisana's body, bloody and barely recognizable, in the rubble of the house he had made her.

"Drisana? Please wake up." Bumi cried, not attempting to refrain from crying over her body.

He looked at her golden hair, which was now grey from the dust in it, and remembered how she had wore it in a bun the first few days they knew each other. She lost the ribbon that had been holding it up and he told her that he would get her a new one, but he forgot. He looked at her closed eyes and wished they would open. He wanted to see her light brown eyes sparkle under the light of the crystals again. He thought they looked so pretty like that.

He stayed there for a long time, holding Drisana in his arms.

First he lost Aang, and now Drisana. Bumi felt as if he was always going to lose the people he loved.

This was his last thought before he cried himself to sleep.

His grandmother found him there, sleeping with a dead girl in his arms. His eyes were red and swollen from crying. She picked him up and moved the girl off of the pile of rubble. She listened for a heartbeat, but nothing was there. The woman closed her eyes, sad that there was nothing she could do to help.

Just as she was about to wake Bumi, a strange feeling overwhelmed the woman. A glowing butterfly beetle landed on the girls shoulder, a sign that she believed to mean a spirit was lurking by.

"Her spirit is still here." she whispered, carrying Bumi back to her house.

She returned to the girl with her medicine in her satchel, ready to perform an ancient ceremony her grandmother had taught her mother, and that her mother taught her.

She painted the girl's face with a clear mixture, one that was used to draw the spirit's energy back from the spirit world.

"I hope this works." She said as she worked, chanting as she continued to apply medicine to the girls wounds.

After several hours, she saw the girl's eyes flutter. She smiled and left her bag and a note with the girl's reviving body. Drisana was breathing, when she woke up she would find a note left by Bumi's grandmother, telling her of how she came across Drisana's body and that she wished she could have helped more, though Drisana felt the woman did more than was asked of her and was grateful enough for that.

Drisana never saw Bumi after that day, and Bumi never knew that she was still alive.

Drisana traveled the world searching for a cure to return her bending, but never found even a lead.

"Eventually, I gave up searching and decided to live on whale tail island. No one has ever found me here and I intend for it to stay that way. But I'll be prepared when they do." Drisana said mischievously. "Our light bending isn't harmful at all, so most would find it impractical. It can, however, come in handy if you know how to use it. I'll teach you to fight, and how to survive and adapt to your new element," She stood up and nodded her head at Hiromi, grabbing her satchel and walking to the teenage girl to help her out of the hot spring.

"But after that you must leave. You need to find your own path to destiny."

Hiromi nodded her head. "Your story has inspired me, Drisana." Hiromi bowed at the woman, showing her the respect Hiromi felt she deserved.

Drisana smiled, "Are you warm?"

Hiromi nodded her head.

"Then we are ready to begin."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- ... It has been almost an entire year since I've updated this... Wow. I'm going to try to get a lot of stuff done on this story since it seems I have nothing but time on my hands for the next couple days.**

"So I would be able to eat every part of a polar bear dog… except its liver?" Hiromi asked, looking at the Arctic survival summary Drisana had made her as she took a break for lunch.

The woman nodded as she took another bite of her noodles, "That's correct, not that you'd want to eat every part of it."

"Why not its liver?" She countered, sitting down across from the elderly woman.

"Polar bear dogs live in the arctic, yes?" Hiromi nodded her head. "And what other animals are there for them to eat in the arctic that can easily fill them up?"

"Seals, I guess. But I still don't see what that has to do with my question." She complained.

Drisana set down her bowl, "That's also correct. And I'm about to tell you what it has to do with your question." She said as she rolled her eyes.

Hiromi sat patiently, waiting for Drisana to further explain her reasoning.

"Seals have to eat a lot of certain vitamins in order to get their blubber and stay warm in the arctic weather. When the polar bear dogs eat the seals, the excess vitamins from the seals go to the polar bear dog's liver. This vitamin, however, is very dangerous when eaten by us humans."

"What happens?"

"This vitamin causes our skin to fall off."

Hiromi choked on her food, "What?"

Drisana smiled and nodded her head, "I promise it's true. I once knew a man who traveled with a man who had eaten polar bear dog liver and the next day he took his shoe off and the whole bottom of his foot came off with it."

"And how do they know it was the polar bear dog's liver?"

"It's happened in more than one instance. But you're going to have to trust me on this one, just don't eat its liver."

Hiromi widened her eyes and nodded her head, grimacing. "Got it."

Drisana looked intently at Hiromi, "I think you're almost ready."

Hiromi gulped and looked up at the woman, eyes still wide. "Ready to leave?"

Hiromi didn't know if she was ready, even if Drisana thought she was. She thought back on the past few weeks, the weeks she had spent training so that she could forge her own path to destiny. But was she ready to leave? What would she do with what Drisana had taught her? Hiromi didn't even know what her first step would be on her path.

"You were always ready to leave; I just had you stay so that I could make sure you didn't die your first day off of Whale Tail Island."

She looked at the white-haired woman disinterestedly, still pondering her actual level of readiness. "How do you know I'm ready?"

She raised one eyebrow, "I'm a one hundred and fourteen year old psychic light bender, just trust what I'm saying."

Hiromi narrowed her eyes at the woman; she'd grown annoyed at the woman for constantly using her age as justification for her actions. While she respected Drisana, Hiromi was often left in the dark about much of what Drisana was asking of her. Hiromi found it comparable to her father telling her something was false "Because I said so" rather than using logic to explain his reasoning.

"I do trust you; I'm just tired of people expecting me to do things without giving me a reason why!" Hiromi thought of her days in the fire nation, of how Lu Ten and she had been supporters of the war without ever realizing what the Fire Nation was actually doing. Hiromi cringed, thinking of the stories she had been told since she began training with Drisana and of what her parents told her in the spirit world.

"Your destiny has brought you this far, Hiromi. It was always meant for you to find out the truth about the Fire Nation, and for you to die in that ocean. Now you must fulfill what has already begun and you must help reunite the nations, especially those of your parents'."

Hiromi stood up, "But what do I do once I leave you, Drisana? I know how to make it on my own thanks to you, but I don't know how to start this revolution."

"The revolution has already begun," She said, walking to the edge of the water, "All that's left is for someone to rise up and lead it."

"But the Avatar-"

She turned around sharply, the air between them growing cold. Hiromi held her breath as she waited for the woman to respond, but nothing happened.

The only noises now were that of the rushing water next to the two of them. There was also the occasional sound of a nearby animal, but the roaring of the water seemed to be all that filled her ears.

Drisana looked back down at the water, "It doesn't matter what the Avatar does. Do you really think he's ready to face the fire lord?"

Hiromi remembered the extreme power Aang had exhibited the day she had drowned. "He seemed ready when he killed me."

"That's not what I'm talking about. The Avatar had killed you while in the Avatar state, something he himself has not learned to master. The only element he is able to consciously control is air. He has a long time before he will be ready, and you need to make sure that there others who are ready when his time comes."

Hiromi nodded content with her answer. "Thank you, Drisana."

The old woman smiled and opened her arms to Hiromi, who responded by running forward to hug Drisana. "You're welcome, dear girl."

The next morning, Drisana and Hiromi woke up with the sun.

As Hiromi ate breakfast, she couldn't help but begin to feel like she was going to be homesick once she left the island. It was nice just having Drisana around, and she was scared that she would go mad living on her own.

For the first time since she died, Hiromi wondered if Zuko and Iroh knew she was okay.

"Does everyone think I'm dead or do they know that you found me?"

"Well honestly I doubt they just assumed a psychic woman had a vision that you were going to drown in the ocean and decided to save you, so they probably think you're dead. But you can still find them, I guess. Do you really want to go back to your fire nation life? I thought that's what you said you wanted to avoid."

Hiromi nodded her head aggressively, "No, I have no plans of going back to the fire nation. It's just, I do have friends still and if they think I'm dead.." Hiromi stopped and thought of Lu Ten. Was it possible he was still alive after all these years? Surely he would have come back to tell her he was okay. She scolded herself for trying to get her hopes up, he wasn't ever coming back and she knew this. It was something she needed to learn to accept.

"I'm just saying I would want to know if one of my friends weren't really dead." Hiromi finished her sentence as she stood up and made sure her bag was packed.

"I already made sure you had everything." Drisana reminded her, "But I guess I understand what you're saying. I tried to find people from my past once I was resurrected as well."

Drisana thought of how she traveled the world searching for Kuzon, a boy she had grown up with but who moved away before their village was attacked.

"Did you ever find any of them?" Hiromi asked, interrupting Drisana's thoughts.

"No, I never did."

Hiromi's heart sank, surely she would be able to find Zuko. But did she want to risk having to return home?

"I guess they'll find out I'm still here when I help take out the fire lord." Hiromi half-joked, trying to lighten Drisana's depressing mood. Any time she talked about her life before she was resurrected she brought this suffocating air of gloominess with her that hung like fog all around them.

"That they will." Drisana said as she stood up, walking outside to the small boat she had obtained several years prior.

"I'm going to take you to the earth kingdom, but after that you're on your own."

Hiromi nodded her head and stepped onto the boat, "I'm ready."

It took a whole week for Hiromi and Drisana to reach land, and Hiromi had never been more grateful to see dry land in her whole life. The small boat Drisana had was outdated and far less sturdy than the one she had grown accustomed to when traveling with the banished prince. Hiromi was sick every single second she was on the ship, which may have been a good thing for Drisana because Hiromi wasted no time exiting the vessel and was eager to leave and be on her own.

Hiromi looked at the forest around her and reexamined the contents of her bag. She had a map, some food, material to set up camp, a canister for water, some medicine, a small list explaining what each of the herbs did, and a special baton Drisana had taught her to use.

"I invented it myself; do you see this small slit in the center?"

Hiromi nodded her head.

"There are small mirrors inside of here, and when you bend light into it like this," Drisana picked up the weapon and a blade slid out of either end of the baton. "The light bounces off of the mirrors and triggers these blades for you to use."

Hiromi placed the baton in a harness she wore on her hip and laughed, examining the map.

"Okay, so Drisana said I was in the Senlin forest.." She said, searching for her own location.

Once she found her place, she used the sun to help her navigate towards the town of Senlin, where she would then travel to Gaipan and attempt to liberate the earth kingdom inhabitants from the fire nation's grasp.

 _Does anyone even live here?_ Hiromi thought to herself as she entered Senlin. Several of the structures inside of the fenced town were completely destroyed, and there were no people walking around. Hiromi explored for a little bit, but then left when she couldn't find anyone.

"I bet the fire nation killed everyone here, too." Hiromi concluded, remembering the scorched section of the forest outside of the village.

She frowned and continued walking; stopping at the seedy merchant's pier to look at the food they had available, which wasn't much, then stopping for a final time to set up camp once the sun was down. Based on how far she had traveled that day, she would reach Gaipan by the end of tomorrow if she kept a fast pace.

Not worried about the rain, Hiromi decided to skip setting up her tent and instead slept on only her sleeping bag, looking up at the stars. She'd done pretty well for her first day on her own, in her opinion.

She woke up with the sun, feeling groggy from having so much excess sleep.

"Oh yeah, the nights are longer now that it's almost the winter solstice." She said, pleased with herself for making that connection.

She continued walking down the lonely dirt road until the thin, green trees surrounding her slowly transitioned into tall, wide trees whose leaves were red and orange.

She admired the slow transition nature provided her with and concluded she was very close to Gaipan. As she walked, she studied the forest around her. There were several metal traps right off the path that were poorly hidden from her line of vision. She went to further examine the traps and was shocked to discover they were made by people of the fire nation.

"There must be a camp close, unless the villagers set these up." She thought out loud, deciding to travel off of the road in case she ran into fire nation soldiers.

Hiromi heard rustling in the trees above her and she quickly somersaulted to the trunk of a nearby tree, resting in between its long roots.

She looked around the tree and saw a young sugar glider crawling down from the branch where she had heard the rustling noise. She laughed silently to herself and stood up; watching as the playful creature excitedly ran around in the leaves around them. Her eyes grew wide once she saw that the sugar glider was about to head towards a trap.

She held her hand out and produced a small beam of light, using it to distract the sugar glider.

She laughed as the sugar glider quickly turned towards the white light and attempted to catch it, frowning when it discovered that its hands were empty. She smiled and led the sugar glider to her, offering it some berries she had picked on her travels. Though suspicious at first, the sugar glider eventually took the fruits and ate them happily.

The creature looked up at Hiromi expectantly as she began to walk away, hoping for more berries.

"I don't have any more, little guy. I don't even have anything to feed myself." She said, looking down at her hungry stomach.

The sugar glider tilted its head and waited for a few seconds before jumping up and climbing one of the tall trees that surrounded her.

She heard another rustling noise from the same tree and she turned around, "I don't have any more f-" She said, expecting to see the sugar glider again.

"What was that?" She thought as she examined the tree.

When she didn't see anything, she turned around and was face to face with a tall, darkly complexioned boy.

She jumped back, reaching for her baton, "Who are you?" She said, narrowing her eyes.

The boy smiled, reaching for the piece of wheat he held in his mouth with his free hand. "I think I could ask you the same question, considering you're in my forest."

"Your forest?" She countered, standing up from her fighting stance.

"That's right," he laughed, "But I'm not telling you anything about me until you tell me who _you_ are." He said, stepping closer to Hiromi.

"Or do you have something you're hiding?" He added, stepping forward again and backing Hiromi up against a tree.

"Oh, I'm not hiding anything. I'm just on my way to Gaipan." She slowly moved her hand towards her baton again.

His eyes looked down at her baton then back at her face, smiling "Are you sure that's all?"

She nodded her head, eyes locked with his. "Maybe."

"That's a shame, you seem like you could help me and my friends with something."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing, just continue your way to Gaipan. I'll leave you alone."

Hiromi eyed him then slowly walked away, looking back at the ruggedly handsome boy following her. Once her eyes were facing back in front of her, she heard a whistling noise behind her and ducked, turning around and using her baton to deflect the projectile object away from her.

"I thought you were going to leave me alone?" She said to the boy, confused.

He smiled mischievously, "I changed my mind." He grabbed his tiger hook swords and ran towards Hiromi, who used her light bending to activate the blades inside of her baton. The rogue boy's eyes widened when he saw this, but it didn't hinder him from charging at her.

She stood her ground until the last second, when he swung one of the hook swords at her and she rolled out of the way, time seeming to go in slow motion.

She remembered the last sparring match she had with Zuko, when he had kicked her legs out from under her, and she smiled and repeated this with the boy. She kicked one of her legs out and caused him to roll forward and land on his back, looking up at Hiromi. She stood up and he smiled, propelling himself off of his back and picking up his sword.

Hiromi got back in her fighting stance as the boy charged at her again, this time hooking his swords together and twirling them around her so that she couldn't roll out of his way again. She tried to follow the twirling pattern the boy was using and knock a sword out of his grasp, but instead had her baton spear tossed from her hands and leaving her defenseless. She ran up a nearby tree and jumped off of it, using the propulsion to give her an extra boost so that she could retrieve her baton.

The boy stopped twirling his swords and unsheathed a knife from his belt, tossing it at Hiromi. Without her baton, she was unable to use it to deflect the blade and instead had to jump out of the way. The knife barely grazed the side of her arm, but she didn't stop to dwell on it as the boy was still running after her. She searched the ground for her baton, looking for it amongst the traps surrounding her. She remembered how she had distracted the sugar glider earlier and used this same technique to temporarily blind her attacker, causing him to drop his hooked swords as he reached for his eyes.

Hiromi saw her opening and leapt towards his weapons, grabbing them and somersaulting behind him.

He smiled at her, "You're quick." He pulled another knife from his belt and began circling Hiromi.

"Do you know how to use those?" He asked, still smiling.

Hiromi stared blankly at the boy, waiting for another opening. She had no clue how to use hooked swords and didn't want him to know this.

He tossed the knife at Hiromi and, as she leaned back to dodge it, he disarmed her by knocking the hooked swords out of her hands. She tried to kick him in the chest to send him back but was easily overpowered by the muscular boy.

She was flat on her back, her arms being held above her head by the boy. She tried to kick him off of her, but this only caused him to move on top of her legs so that she couldn't move.

Hiromi cursed Drisana for only teaching her how to fight instead of making her lift weights or something so that she could actually utilize her fighting skills rather than being overpowered by a boy like this. She wished she still had her fire bending too, and then she could have definitely kicked this guy's butt. But in the end she was just grateful to still be alive.

"I can teach you how to use tiger hook swords." He said, still smiling at Hiromi.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Jet."

Hiromi looked at the boy, confused, and tried not to blush.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" she spat.

"I want you to join me."

"Join you in what?"

"Take a walk with me." He said, standing up and holding his hand out to Hiromi.

She grabbed his hand, wincing when she felt where he had cut her earlier.

"My friends can fix that for you." He said, picking up his swords.

"I can fix it myself." She said, looking for her baton.

"Sorry, I was just trying to help."

She picked it up from the ground and looked at him, "You know, you could have just started this whole conversation by asking me to walk with you instead of fighting me."

"I wanted to see what you were made of. You're really not bad. You can definitely hold your own in a fight."

Hiromi rolled her eyes, "I could have told you that."

"Well you haven't seemed very eager to tell me much of anything about yourself." He countered.

She laughed, "I don't usually tell many people much about myself." She said, unsure of whether she should tell him her name. _Is my name easily recognizable as a fire nation name? I really should have asked Drisana about this instead of worrying why I shouldn't eat polar bear dog liver._

"I can understand that, I bet you have one hell of a back story."

She raised her eyebrows, "You could say that."

"What do I call you?"

"Whatever you want, I guess. I don't remember my name."

He stopped, "Wait, so you've just gone this long without having a name?"

"Well, I'm sure I had one at one point." She lied, "I just don't remember it."

"So I'm guessing your parents were killed by the fire nation?"

"Yeah. I was really little." She lied again.

"I'm sorry. Mine were too, when I was eight."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He changed the subject, "But, I still don't know what I'm supposed to call you." He said as he twirled the piece of wheat around in his mouth.

"I've been trying to figure out the same thing for a while." _A few minutes, really._

He laughed, "I'm sure I'll think of something. Give it enough time and the gang will think up a nickname for you."

Jet continued the conversation by telling Hiromi about his Freedom Fighters and how he thought she could be useful to them and their cause.

"I really want you to join us," he said, stopping at the edge of a river. "I think it could be your calling."

Hiromi nodded, it seemed too good to be true. She had found a group that was dedicated to taking down the fire nation, which was exactly what she had been searching for.

"I'm in."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Wrote this in notes bc I'm bored and inspired. Also pls review I thrive on praise it makes me feel like I'm working for something**

"Wake up, Lightweight."

Hiromi opened her eyes just in time to see the silhouette of a tall, messy haired boy toss something at her. She moved her elbow up to protect her face from whatever it was, but the object only landed with a light thud next to where her head was laying.

Hiromi closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out of her nose before she shot up off of the mat she had been sleeping on. She picked up the burlap sack Jet had thrown towards her and looked inside.

"This sack is empty." She said, looking up at him.

"We're checking traps this morning," he nodded, "You need to know where they all are."

Jet crossed his arms as he leaned back onto a wooden post that was behind him, habitually spinning the piece of wheat that never seemed to leave his mouth.

Hiromi nodded her head and tossed the bag over her shoulder, walking behind Jet as he left the tent she shared with some other members of the gang. She had spent the past couple days getting to know her way around the treehouse and trying to learn everyone's names. She didn't have an official job with the Freedom Fighters yet, but she'd heard that Jet didn't usually take newcomers under his wing as much as he had with her unless he had really big plans for them.

"Hey Jet, I have a question." Hiromi asked as they began their way to the first of the traps.

"What's up?"

"Is Jet your real name or is it a nickname?"

"It's my real name." He smiled.

"Why are you the only person who doesn't have a nickname?"

Jet shrugged his shoulders in response, "I mean I guess I kind of chose the name Jet for myself, so it could be considered a nickname."

Hiromi nodded, accepting his answer.

"Honestly I was hoping for a more exciting nickname than Lightweight." She confessed.

"Well you could've chosen your own name like I did, you're the one who decided to leave it up to the gang, short stuff." Jet winked at her and pulled a rope hanging from a tree branch, lowering a wooden cage that held inside of it a good-sized bird of some sort. He picked it up and tossed it into Hiromi's bag, motioning for her to hand it to him while he walked her through resetting the trap. They continued to walk and talk to one another as they emptied and reset various kinds of traps throughout the woods. As they neared the last of the traps they had to check, Hiromi noticed for the first time the amount of dark clouds in the sky.

"I think it's gonna rain soon." She said, looking up at the dark masses above her.

Jet looked up, squinting his eyes. "You're probably right. Let's get these last few traps cleared and we'll try to get back to camp before it starts pouring too bad."

Jet picked up the sack and threw it effortlessly over his broad shoulders. Hiromi watched him walk for a moment before following behind him, his legs taking long strides in front of her. He walked with a certain confidence that she'd never seen in anyone before, he seemed so intent and relaxed at the same time. It was as if he knew he had an impossible task in front of him but that he had no doubt he was going to be the one to complete it. It was honestly a very conceited attitude to have, but Hiromi thought it suited him.

Before Hiromi could stare at him for a second longer it seemed like all the rain that the clouds were holding fell from the sky at once. Jet turned around and grabbed her wrist, pulling her behind him as he ran towards some unknown destination.

After a few seconds passed, her arm grew too slippery for him to hold onto while they were running and he shouted to her "Make sure you keep up!" Before letting go.

After they ran for a minute or two, they came upon a tree and stopped. Were they really going to check more traps in the rain like this?

Jet tossed the bag up into the tree and immediately began climbing, Hiromi following behind him. They were no more than 15 feet up the tree before they reached an old structure that had been built on its lowest branch and was surrounded by leaves. The inside of the building was covered with leaves and dirt, but it was evident that Jet had been here before. After he pulled himself inside he walked over to a chest that was in the corner of the room and pulled out an old blanket that smelled terrible.

"Did you build this place?" She asked as he handed her the blanket.

"Yeah, Longshot and I put it together this one and a few other lookout posts when we were first starting out. We have a handful of them all around the forest but we don't use them very much anymore."

Hiromi didn't blame them for not using them. This place wasn't absolutely awful but back at camp was a utopia compared to it.

"That's pretty neat." She sat down and rung her hair out as she wrapped herself up in the blanket.

"You can't just keep that all to yourself, you know." Jet smiled as he sat down next to her.

"Oh!" Hiromi began to falter, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, uh-"

He laughed and waved a hand dismissively at her, "I'm just messing with you, Lightweight."

Hiromi laughed nervously and blushed as he spoke again, "I am pretty cold though."

Jet took off the shirt and weapons that he adorned and laid them out in the corner of the room followed by taking off his shoes and emptying the water from inside of them. Taking his shirt off revealed a strong, dark back and broad shoulders that shone from being wet. She also noticed a scar that ran from underneath his armpit all the way down to his hip. It was long and deep and was probably many years old. Hiromi wondered for a second what had happened to him before Jet turned around to catch her staring, causing Hiromi to look down and blush with embarrassment.

She followed suit and began removing the outermost parts of her soaking wet clothing. She took off her water-filled boots and rung out her socks along with the maroon sweater she'd been wearing, leaving her in her pants and a dark sleeveless shirt.

"What happened to your side?" Hiromi asked, looking over at him.

"Happened when I was young. It's not a long story, but it is a bit depressing to hear and I'm sure you can guess where it's from without me telling it to you."

Hiromi frowned and pictured a young Jet, helpless and afraid, being attacked by a Fire Nation soldier. It made her sad that she knew so little about what really went on outside the palace, she then found it ironic that she'd literally grown up in the Fire Lord's backyard but knew nothing about what he did, or what he ordered people to do.

"I'm so sorry." she said, not knowing what else to say.

"It's not your fault," Jet said, "It was those damned fire nation soldiers."

She nodded her head in understanding. She looked out of a makeshift window in the side of the small building at the pouring rain. She watched as animals ran to the trees for cover, just as her and Jet had.

She looked back over at Jet, who was looking at her.

She watched his golden eyes staring back at hers, his shining chest heaving with every breath.

She thought of Lu Ten.

She thought of his shining eyes, of his strong shoulders and chest. She thought of his loving heart and how he'd always make her feel so important. She thought of conversations where he would just stop mid-sentence and stare at her, then when she asked what he was going to say he'd just look at her and smile.

She thought of the day he proposed to her, and how unbelievably happy she felt, a happiness she never thought she'd know.

She thought of the day she found out he was gone forever.

Jet stepped closer and closer to her until he was sitting down next to her, his arm around her shoulders.

"You're shivering, put this blanket around you."

He handed her the old, smelly blanket and she wrapped it around the two of them.

She looked up into his golden eyes and smiled.

She thought of Zuko.


End file.
